Feathery Friends In A Neighbouring Town

During the summer season, we make a few trips to Gananoque, a small town approximately 20 minutes east of our area with a population of about 5,200 year-round residents. And our first stop there is at Confederation Park to visit with these two feathery friends that I have shared many photographs of:

These beautiful creatures are named Ginger and Asher, and they are the town�s iconic birds.

They spend a leisurely summer on the Gananoque River in Confederation Park, but unlike other mute swans, Ginger and Asher don�t head to an exotic southern vacation when the days get colder in the fall.

Instead, this lovely pair spends mid October to the beginning of June at a local hobby farm with goats, sheep and ducks.

Like many captive waterfowl, Ginger and Asher�s wings were clipped within 8 to 10 days of their birth to prevent them from taking flight.

They are also tagged for identification purposes in case they somehow make their way to the St. Lawrence River and need to be tracked down.

I also discovered recently that they are not the only ones that have graced Confederation Park�s river. Apparently, swans have been spending the summer there for the past 25 years. So there have been others before Ginger and Asher.

Is there a creature more graceful than a swan? They are one of the loveliest sights of the summer.

I enjoy my visits with Ginger and Asher, and there is no doubt that they are very well taken care of, but I can�t help but feel saddened by their loss of freedom.

Have a great day, everyone.