Nesting swan on Longboat Key dies

Though hopes had been high for baby swans on Longboat Key, there is no chance for any hatching this year after the death of the final nesting female. 

There had been six eggs in the nest of Chuck and Margie, on the edge of the Harbourside Golf Course, at the corner of Gulf of Mexico Drive and Bay Isles Parkway. David Novak, who cares for Longboat Key’s swans, said he saw Margie leave the nest this week. He’s not sure what happened, as the swan didn’t seem thin, but he theorized her mate hadn’t relieved her from nesting duties often enough. 

“She got in the water and she was drinking the water, but it didn’t seem like she was feeding, so something was going on,” Novak said. 

By the evening of May 27, the female died. Before that, when Novak had noticed her abandoning the eggs, he began artificially keeping them warm in the hopes of soon returning them to the nest. Novak confirmed one viable egg, but orphaned cygnets can't be raised by other adults.

“All in all, it’s a tragedy,” Novak said. 

Chuck and Margie arrived on Longboat Key in fall 2020 from Illinois. They were named for Charles and Margery Barancik, Longboat Key residents and philanthropists killed in a traffic crash in 2019.

Novak has been trying to grow the flock after another swan couple, Greta and Clark, failed to produce viable cygnets for several consecutive years. He’s going to rearrange nesting grounds before the next mating season. 

“Even though I think I know what I want to do, I shouldn’t be making decisions right now until I clear my head,” Novak said. “We’ll make a decision come October as far as how things will be arranged to maximize potential. Maybe it’ll give me a chance to fix things in the environment to make a more ideal nesting environment … maybe I’ll propose building a couple nesting areas away from golfers out of the water.”

Novak is still in contact with Bob Knox, the swan expert in Illinois who provided the newest pair, and thinks that getting another female may work, since he knows the male is capable of fertilizing eggs. 

“We know we have a viable male, we know we have a pair that aren’t producing and another pair that are reluctant to nest,” Novak said. “It all has to be sorted out but fortunately we know we’ve got an impeccable source (to get another female).”