Hi, I'm Jen and interpreter here at Royal Botanical Garden. Today I'm in Hendry Valley Nature's sanctuary to take a peek at our trumpeter swan. We're really really lucky to have these magnificent birds making their home in the valley and raising their young here. Trumpeter swans had disappeared from Ontario by the late 1800s and in fact we're one of the first species to be added to Canada's Endangered species list. But they're a conservation success story. They've been reintroduced they're making a comeback but every young swan is still important to their survival. So I asked RBG's aquatic ecologist Jennifer Bowman to tell us a little bit about helping to keep these birds healthy and safe and here's what she has to say about feeding swans and waterfowls. Is it actually harmful to feed the birds? It's not healthy for the birds, no. The food choice is often bred or popcorn or corn and these items are high in calorie and low in protein and essential nutrients for the for the birds so their bones don't develop properly. They can get this metabolic bone disease which is a lack of calcium in their bones. They can get to eat your wings which is in proper development of their wings which can restrict their ability to fly and unleash that. So it's not healthy for the birds. They should naturally be eating insects that live in the water, and bird of feather and bird of bird species, plants and seeds and these items is very diet because of them the nutrients that they need and all those minerals and vitamins to keep them healthy. While it may seem helpful to feed waterfowl like swans and ducks it's unfortunately killing them with kindness. This young swan developed angel wing after it was fed by visitors here. Sadly it wasn't able to migrate with its family and so it must spend the rest of its life in captivity. To safely enjoy birds, likes, swans and ducks, consider bringing your binoculars or a camera in order to get a close up view and to help them and support them consider donating to our conservation and restoration projects or even volunteering. Take care everyone.