Nest for a Trumpeter swan…
(I should mention, these were designed for freezing cold winter weather…The swans sit on the ice of Lake Ontario in the winter…This is because when they are land, people come by with their dogs & the swans get scared…So they backtrack to the ice & sleep there…
When I put some of my test nests down on the ground near the water, the nests get hard from the very low temperatures…So what appears to be a tripping hazard, is not actually…
The Sisal rope was an earlier prototype, I did switch to a water-resistant rope that I was able to knot at a much tighter weave…
Also, putting some hay on top of the nest is a nice luxury…
I also took some of the thick colourful plastic wild bird seed bags that were now empty, & knotted them together into a flat circle shape, & used that UNDER a swan nest…This made the whole thing warmer…
My biggest problem was human predators…Parks & recreation people coming by & deciding to “clean” up by throwing the nest into the garbage bin…
These people even destroy natural swan nests, which should be illegal, but when a government agency does something illegal they call that a “Permit”…
It’s like when ambulances or police cars speed, or the children of diplomat’s kill somebody while drunk driving…It is all ok, because they work for the government…
Anywhoo…)
There is a how to on Instructables (see GroveCanada there)…
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-Trumpeter-Swan-Nest/
Sisal rope prototype…
This one is water-resistant ropes at 750 feet in diameter 3/8 of an inch…(I made 8 different ones to get the design right…) About 43 to 48 inches in diameter…by Sari Grove, with help from swan fanatics…(also got help from Pepsi art grants)…
