The swan’s song

Regarding “The Ugly Truth” [Jan. 18]: I had the great fortune to discover trumpeter swan 9Y3 -- a member of the Henry’s Fork relocation effort -- swimming in Goleta on Dec. 9. Power lines killed it a week later. The hazards of migration on young birds are myriad. As a birder, I wonder what brings vagrants our way. As a human animal, I wince at the slice of responsibility we hold for their demise.

Rebecca Fagan Coulter

Santa Barbara