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Swans Louis and Serena return to Schaumburg pond

Schaumburg's swans, Louis and Serena, have returned to the village pond just north of the Robert O. Atcher Municipal Center for the dual purposes of raising a new family and keeping the local goose population at bay.

Before long, Serena will lay eggs on the small island in the middle of the pond that likely will hatch sometime around Memorial Day, according to Schaumburg's Landscape & Sustainability Planner Martha Dooley.

Over the years, Dooley has learned not to try to guess how many eggs or hatched cygnets there may be.

The young birds mature quickly, so much so that they'll closely resemble their parents long before they're all taken back to their winter home in Wisconsin in late October.

But the cygnets are particularly vulnerable to dangers during the early weeks of their lives. Though there's little that can be done about owls and other birds of prey, the village has tried to even the odds as best as it can.

Snapping turtles are relocated and fishing is prohibited as long as the cygnets are present due to the dangers of snagged hooks left behind.

Because the little birds will die if they try to eat popcorn - which they can't digest - sales of that particular snack have been banned from the Prairie Arts Festival, which takes place on the banks of the pond over Memorial Day weekend.

Louis and Serena were named through a contest years ago after the pair in E.B. White's 1970 children's book, "The Trumpet of the Swan."

  Lynn Rymarz of Schaumburg tries to get close for a picture of swans Louis and Serena, just after their return to Schaumburg's municipal pond. Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com
  Schaumburg swans Louis and Serena were named through a contest years ago after the pair in "The Trumpet of the Swan" by E.B. White. Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com
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