Hello Tweeters,

It was a pleasure to work Tuesday with a dedicated group of members of
The Trumpeter Swan Society led by Martha Jordan See
(http://www.trumpeterswansociety.org/), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Washington Department of Fish and Wild Life and other volunteers.?

We finished the post mortem examination and tissue collection of 238
Trumpeter and Tundra Swans carcasses that were collected during
2004-2005. According to a 2004 progress report of Trumpeter Swans Lead
Poisoning Mortality Investigation by Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife these swans died in Whatcom County, Washington State and the
Sumas Prairie, British Columbia.?During the five winters of 1999-2004
at least 1,400 swans have died in these areas.?

?The most recent carcasses were from sick and dead swans collected
during roadside surveys conducted twice per week from October through
January.?The birds were frozen and then thawed this past weekend for
the necropsy work conducted on Monday and Tuesday.?Some of the protocol
for examination of the swans included:?body weight, age class, keel
score for body fat, observations of the gross condition of the external
condition, as well as the internal organ appearance, collection of
liver, GI tract and gizzard samples for later laboratory analysis, and
gender determination from the gonads.

?According to the conclusions and future activities of the Fish and
Wildlife report, several ?areas of interest? have been identified as
potential sources of lead shot responsible for the swan
mortalities.?The work group will continue to use the most
scientifically effective methods to accurately determine the primary
source(s) of the lead shot.?The goals for 2004-05 are to better
identify the potential source areas and based on results, initiate
actions to neutralize the sources of lead shot and stop the swan
mortality.

?It was impressive to witness the teamwork and tremendous efforts of
the individuals involved in this project.

Don McVay
Seattle
dmcvay at cmc.net

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