It’s considered the unofficial launch of spring in the Festival City; coming up on Sunday, April 6, is the annual Swan release parade.
Quin Malott, Stratford's manager of parks, forestry and cemeteries, says this is a tradition that has lasted over 50 years.
“There's been some form of a swan release onto the river since the construction of the winter quarters in 1973; it was just easier to walk the birds out of the winter quarters down to the river, then to cage them up and and taxi them down,” Malott said. “Before that, the swans would be picked up and brought to the river and dropped off.”
It wasn’t until 1984 that it was decided that the swan release parade would take place the first week in April, and it's a trend that has only been broken once.
“There was one year where there was a ice on the river still in April so the swans were not able to be released into the river,” said Malott.
Around 2 p.m., the sounds of the Stratford Police Pipes and Drums Band will fill the area near the Avon River close to Lakeside Drive as the Stratford swans are led to the water. Currently, the city has 12 swans.
“We have three mated pairs so we could see some nests put out this year,” Malott said. “Two of the swans will be brought off-site. The reason we put them off-site is because there's a very aggressive male that keeps all the other birds off the river and won't let them on. He keeps chasing them off the river, which leaves them vulnerable to predators like coyotes.”
While the swans will start the spring off at the Avon River, they are free to roam the city, and many times end up at the Stratford Country Club or other areas of the city.
“We have a mated pair that will make their way over to the field subdivision to a stormwater retention pond; they go there every year,” Malott said. "But hopefully, that'll keep six to eight swans on the river for people see."
City officials are excited about the possibility of baby swans but warn residents to be careful if they encounter any nests.
“There's only so much you can do; we do fence them off so people know where they're at, and we've looked into things such as floating platforms for the nests,” Malott said. “We try to protect them as much as we can, but there are a lot of things out of our control, like there's mink and there's turtles, and other predators out there.”
For people looking to catch the swan release, there is a parade that will start at the swan's winter quarters located on Morenz Drive. The parade will then go along Lakside Drive before the swans enter the river at North Street.