It’s not worth risking hurting him,” Benner says. There’s ice, but there’s no walking on it. Kathy Benner backs up on the right bank, and Bock stands ready with the sheet.įor a moment, the bird entertains this, an interesting diversion from thinking about honking at things and doing swan stuff.Īnd then, like a frigate turning to open sea evading the crushing embrace of man-of-wars in the line of battle, the swan reverses course, and, with a flurry of speed, heads for the safety of the ice, deftly ending any attempt to apprehend the waterfowl this day. Michael Murphy stands ready with a net on the left bank for the swan to come closer. Lockett / Juneau Empire)īenner’s husband, Tim Benner, approaches from position lakeward on the right bank. Tim Benner, right and Michael Murphy, left, assist the Juneau Raptor Center as volunteers attempted to capture a trumpeter swan with an injured wing at Auke Lake on Jan. At that time, Benner said, raptor center volunteer Pat Bock will bag the swan in a sheet, and they’ll bundle the bemused waterfowl back to JRC for an examination and fluids. The plan is simple and recognizable to anyone who’s ever tried to herd a cat into a pet carrier: two people will approach from the right bank, with the intent of goosing the swan into the loving embrace of the people with nets on the left bank. The footbridge is the perfect observation point for what’s about to unfold, the layer of snow on the rails barely disturbed save for a few places where people leaned over to get a better look. I rapidly unpack my back, fumbling on a long lens, and leaving a wide lens, a clipboard, and three children’s books I meant to mail to a relative piled on the bridge. If the bird comes your way and you have an opportunity, you take it.” But I wanted to see what he’d do,” Benner said afterward.
And at the center, gently steaming up the inlet, the intense focus of eight grown humans: the swan. In the trees on either side of the inlet, volunteers with poles. Two women, watching quietly and patiently from the bridge with cameras, like a golf match or an execution. Benner texts to say they’re about to have a go of it, and I grab my gear and hustle over to the footbridge heading towards the college. On arriving at Auke Lake just before 2 p.m., I get out to take a look and immediately resolve to go nowhere near the ice, which appears to be slightly thicker and more supportive than plastic wrap.