An injured swan in Oxford Township received protection and aid from three guardian angels Tuesday.
Oxford residents John Guzman and Jerry Modders and Metamora resident Chris Graye rescued the swan, who was found sitting in the middle of Oxford Road, just north of Noble Road.
“He wouldn’t move,” said Guzman, who was the first to find the injured bird. “It couldn’t fly. I knew immediately something was wrong.”
Guzman called his friend Modders for help.
A friend commuting to work called Graye about the injured swan.
From her home, Graye said she immediately started calling the Department of Natural Resources, the Michigan Humane Society and some licensed wildlife rescue services.
However, she either “couldn’t get an answer” or was told “it’s so far away, they wouldn’t come.”
So, Graye decided to drive out to the site to check on the swan.
There she met up with Guzman and Modders and made a few more phone calls. Unable to locate anyone willing to come out to the site and aid the swan, Guzman and Modders used a sheet from Graye to gently capture the bird.
They carefully placed the swan in a decoy bag, the type used in waterfowl hunting, to secure it for transport and keep it from “flailing around and hurting itself.” Guzman then transported the bird to the Michigan Humane Society in Rochester Hills. Graye said society personnel indicated they would help the swan if it was brought to them.
The Humane Society took possession of the bird and examined it.
According to Humane Society Wildlife Specialist Jan Cantle, “it’s a mystery” why the swan wouldn’t move because it has a “good body condition” and “good body weight.”
“We’re a little unsure why he chose not to move,” she said.
“There were no fractures or obvious wounds,” she said. However, the swan did have a “slight wound” on the “nares” (similar to nostrils) of its beak.
Cantle speculated the bird may have been somehow “stunned” (perhaps hit by a vehicle). She reported the bird is still a “little weak,” but in “very good spirits” and a “little agressive,” which is a “good sign.”
The swan will be observed for a couple of days and then transferred to a licensed wildlife rehabilatator, who will release it back into the wild, Cantle said.
When asked why he went to such great lengths to help this swan, Guzman, who described himself as an “avid hunter,” replied, “I’d have done it for any animal. I’d help any animal.”
Guzman said if no one had helped the injured bird, it would have “died an agonizing death” from either being hit by a vehicle or eaten by a predator. “I couldn’t let that happen,” he said.
Graye said she did it because she’s a “soft-touch for animals.” She owns 14 cats, four horses and two dogs.
“I couldn’t stand to think about (that swan) out there in the cold, in danger,” she said. “I would do it for any animal.”