Published in the May 24, 2021 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — Last Thursday started out like any other day for photographer Joyce Wood.
She was in back of her Main Street home at about 7:30 a.m., doing one of her favorite things: watching the wildlife on Crystal Lake.
She turned her attention to a family of swans, an adult pair and their nine tiny cygnets. Then she thought she noticed something. Using her camera’s telephoto lens, she zoomed in for a closer look.
Her worst fears were confirmed. A fishing hook attached to a lure was stuck in the adult female swan’s beak.
Wood watched a little longer. She wanted to see if the mother swan was able to feed herself with the fishing gear stuck in her mouth. It became increasingly clear that the mother was unable to feed, even as her nine babies huddled under her wings and at her side.
“No one could see what was happening but my camera,” Wood said. “I had to report it to someone who could save her. Imagine one of those babies getting hooked — or her starving.”
Meanwhile, the swan family swam deep into a cove, out of sight. Wood wondered if the mother swan had the strength to shelter her young.
Wood called Linda Amato of Cape Ann Wildlife, an organization dedicated to rescuing and providing the necessary rehabilitative care to all injured, orphaned or otherwise impaired wildlife. Wood then called the town’s Water Department and spoke to Tim O’Brien, who got the OK from Water Department Superintendent Steve Fitzpatrick to begin the rescue.
“Tim O’Brien fielded the call from Joyce Wood reporting the injured swan,” Fitzpatrick said. “Joyce informed Tim that she had contacted Linda Amato, a Massachusetts Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator, and that Linda was on her way to try and rescue the swan. Joyce requested that we assist Linda by providing a boat and manpower. I determined that the Fire Department would be best suited to handle the situation. The Engine 1 crew consisting of Lt. Art Fennelly, firefighter Richie Cardavelli and firefighter Nolan Curran responded without hesitation.”
Amato and wildlife assistant Rachael Ricotta met the firefighters behind the Water Department building on Broadway at about 1:15 on Thursday afternoon. Wood also arrived with swan food (shredded lettuce and frozen corn) to lure the swan if needed.
The Water Department set up the firefighters and Amato with the motor boat. As they launched the boat onto Crystal Lake, Wood drove wildlife assistant Rachael Ricotta to the woods off Linden Road at the other end of the lake to assist on shore if needed.
The firefighters and Amato located the swans. Wood and wildlife assistant Rachel Ricotta watched from the shore as the rescue team in the boat began trailing after the adult female nonstop and after many attempts to net her, they got her back out into open waters in the middle of Crystal Lake.
Eventually, they exhausted her and one of the firefighters was successfully able to net her. They pulled her onto the boat and Linda Amato was able to remove the lure, with no damage to the swan’s beak. They then set the mother swan free to rejoin her family on the lake.
The incident should serve as a cautionary tale and a reminder that boating and fishing are illegal on Crystal Lake, the town’s reservoir. Leaving fishing line, lures and hooks on the shore or in the water is extremely dangerous to all waterfowl.
Joyce Wood downplayed her own role in the story.
“This isn’t about me,” she said. “It’s about this family of swans who were saved by our town and a wildlife rescuer. Many, many thanks to Cape Ann Wildlife rehabber Linda Amato and our Wakefield Fire Department and Wakefield Water Department.
“This story needs to be told,” she added. “Wakefield really is a wonderful place to live in and our environment is precious to many.”
