Our Outbreak Made the Television News

Information travels, especially from one form of media to another. Last week the Waterloo Courier published an article quoting Iowa DNR Biologist and me, along with my photos, discussing the outbreak killing waterfowl at Sweet Marsh. The article in the Waterloo paper was also carried in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Today Mollie with KCRG (Channel 9 out of Cedar Rapids) interviewed Jason and me along with airing some of my images and video at Sweet Marsh. Tonight a longer story will air where my interview is supposed to be shown.

I was not/am not looking for press time, but am not opposed to getting the word out on what is happening with the avian influenza outbreak. A person sometimes has to get in front of the camera rather than working behind it to voice a message.

During my interview with Mollie I had a “squirrel moment” when I heard trumpeter swans approaching in flight. She was as excited as I was. Hopefully her video clearly shows the birds.

As for Sweet Marsh today… there was one Canada goose not looking good, but hundreds more were in the skies flying around the more expansive open water. All trumpeter swans observed appeared healthy as they splashed to clean feathers and then spent a long time preening each feather to perfection. See the positive action at this video link:

Healthy Looking Trumpeter Swans at Sweet Marsh

I did find a concerning mound of white and tan feathers in another area of Sweet Marsh. At this time I am not able to confirm or deny these were trumpeter swan feathers. The setting did make for an interesting image.