Group frees baby swan from beer can stuck on beak

Photos courtesy of Pam Brown: This swan had a beer can stuck on its beak for days, preventing it from eating.

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 August 2017 at 4:12 pm

CARLTON – Many community members were worried for several days, watching a baby swan with a beer can stuck on the bottom portion of its beak, preventing it from eating.

The swan was spotted several times swimming with its family near The Bridges in Waterport, and many people were concerned about its predicament.

Local residents tried to reach the swan for several days, going by kayak and boat, but were unable to get close to the swan, which stayed close to its two parents and five other siblings.

A group of five residents were determined on Monday evening to find and free the swan from the beer can. (They also tried on Sunday, but the swans were evasive.)

The swan with the beer can stuck on its beak, lower left, is pictured with its family on Friday.

They used a kayak and two rowboats with motors from Sandy’s Oak Orchard Marina on Monday. They found the swan and its family nearby on Marsh Creek.

“We chased it back and forth and it finally went up a bank,” said Pam Brown, one of the five good samaritans.

Kim Remley was in a kayak and was able to reach the swan at about 5:30 p.m. She used a fish net to keep it from escaping. Then she pulled the can off its beak. She said the piece of the beer can was the top of an old Budweiser.

“There was some serious hissing, but he was still very much alive when I lifted the net,” she said.

The group nicknamed the swan, “Beakcan.” They were relieved for a successful rescue. They feared the swan would die.

“The real story here is that many many people (besides us) made calls to the authorities and tried to help Beakcan,” Remley said in an email. “There is still so much goodness in this world!!!”

Remley’s sister, Anne Beatty, is thankful the repeated efforts paid off.

“You can’t let a swan die,” she said today. “You gotta do it. It’s a being in pain.”