Swans on the Run: Black Wolf crews recapture errant birds

A couple of renegade swans made a daring escape from Blackwolf Run over the weekend, enjoying a few carefree days on the Sheboygan River before being captured and taken back home on Wednesday morning.

The swans live on a pond on Hole 4 of the River Course at Blackwolf Run in the summer and in a heated barn-type enclosure during the winter, according to a Kohler Co. employee who declined to give his name at the scene.

According to someone with information about the incident, golf course employees noticed Monday morning that the swans were missing, having apparently escaped on Saturday or Sunday.

The swans have clipped wings and can't fly.

A few members of the crew paddled down the Sheboygan River in a kayak to check for the swans, and some fishermen reported seing the swans headed east on the river Sunday afternoon.

The two golf course staff workers continued down the river and found the swans near the Eighth Street Bridge, but were unsuccessful in catching them.

The search continued until mid-Wednesday morning, when Kohler Co. employees in kayaks cornered the birds near Kiwanis Park.

Five people using two kayaks and a fishing boat followed the birds around the river until they were worn out enough to be captured in nets and transported back to Blackwolf Run in company vans.

No one from Kohler Co.'s course maintenance or landscape services department returned calls seeking information