ORLANDO, Fla. — Andrew Marshall and his wife, PJ Garcia Marshall, know the names of every single swan that calls Orlando’s Lake Eola home.
As a matter of fact, Marshall is so enthusiastic about the city’s swans that he is called to catch swans found wandering the streets and return them to the lake they most likely came from.
It’s a fitting hobby: for the past five years, the couple has served on the city’s volunteer team that looks after the swans in the city’s downtown gem.
Though he has no formal veterinary education outside of initiatives he’s taken on his own, such as visiting with swan caregivers in the United Kingdom, Marshall has led the team for two years, quietly assisting city staff as they helped feed the swans, care for injured and new birds and took any displaying symptoms to and from vet appointments in Lakeland. He practically has the vet and the park staff on speed dial.
“All we’ve ever wanted to do is be a partner to the city, be a help and be an ally,” he said.
The quiet ended Sunday night, when Garcia made a Facebook post where she announced 13 (which she later corrected to 12 in her interview) swans had died at Lake Eola over Christmas week from a suspected wave of bird flu – and accused the city of not being transparent with the public.
“The volunteers will have always and will continue to step in,” Garcia said. “We need the city to step up.”
Her comments, not unexpectedly, ruffled a few feathers.
Bird battle
Signs of trouble for the couple emerged quickly as the Facebook post began to pick up steam, when Commissioner Patty Sheehan – who leads the city’s efforts to protect the swans -- posted her response to Garcia about five hours later.
“A lot of misinformation has been circulating on social media by people who should know better,” Sheehan wrote.
The commissioner then held a press conference at Lake Eola Monday morning as workers pressure washed the walkways and put up signs warning visitors to not approach the birds.
Sheehan said park staff’s efforts to mitigate the spread of the flu had been underway since the city found out on December 23, six days prior, but the response had been stymied by holiday vacations. She also said veterinarians had been consulted.
The city has yet to confirm that bird flu, spread by migrating wild birds, is the cause of the swans’ deaths, even as precautions were taken. Test results from a state laboratory report “non negative” results. Standard protocol is to send those tests to a CDC lab in Iowa for confirmation before bird flu is officially determined.
“We have to balance a lot of factors, and it’s frustrating to me that people are saying that we aren’t taking this seriously,” Sheehan said. “The protocols are, don’t eat poop, okay, and if you’re concerned, stay the walkways. If you get anything on your shoes, clean your shoes when you get home.”
The Marshalls became more outspoken after Sheehan’s press conference, in turn accusing the commissioner of spreading misinformation about the outbreak.
They said the city knew about the potential outbreak sooner than disclosed, did not reach out to veterinarians right away, and weren’t taking all the precautions laid out in an action plan that existed during the last bird flu outbreak in early 2024, which wiped out 15 swans – but did not impact any humans.
“They disinfected, they cleaned up the areas, they removed the feeders, disinfect the feeders and also gone to a feed that would have floated on the water to mitigate congregation of these birds,” Marshall said.
As of Tuesday, over-water feeders could be seen on Lake Eola, which birds repeatedly sought out as they searched for snacks. It was not clear if they had been taken out, disinfected and then put back. The walkways appeared to have been recently cleaned.
The primary swan medical contact, Dr. Geoffrey Gardner, did not respond to a call inquiring about whether the city reached out to consult with him about the deaths, and if so, when.
The Marshalls also disputed Sheehan’s update Tuesday that revised the total number of deaths to 9. Sheehan said when the birds were being disposed of, three of the bags turned out to be other birds including an ibis and an anhinga.
Marshall, who maintains the swans’ medical records, said he had been sent names and band numbers for 12 dead swans by city staff. The birds ranged from one to 10 years old.
“I do have a profound amount of respect for the park manager… and his staff. We have never spoken disparagingly about the park staff,” Marshall said. “I do hope that they will look at this as an opportunity, a tipping point from an outcry from the community.”
Sheehan, for her part, said her staff was creating a list of claims that weren’t true and would publish rebuttals when complete.
Should the public have been informed?
One of the sticking points that caused Garcia’s post was that the city should have been more concerned about the wellbeing of people and pets who visit the park.
Bird flu, formally known as H5N1, is contagious and can spread to pets, especially other birds and cats, according to the CDC. Dogs can also contract it, though cases are less common.
Humans can also become sick from airborne particles clinging to specks of dust, though cases are rare, the agency said.
WFTV sent the lab results for one of the birds to Dr. Andrew Bowman, an infectious disease veterinary expert at The Ohio State University.
Bowman said the state’s preliminary test did not provide enough information that would’ve led him to suggest informing citizens right away.
“The normal procedure is to follow through USDA confirmation,” Bowman said. “I think there’s the potential problem of sounding the alarm bell when there’s nothing to be alarmed about, and we don’t know what we’re dealing with… when we hear highly pathogenic avian influenza, certainly the hair goes up on the back of our necks. But I think in all reality, we don’t know much about this virus
Bowman said the stakes are higher when the test comes from an area that hadn’t previously seen cases of avian flu, as was the case in Orlando.
If the virus had been spreading in another county, such as Brevard or Osceola, the rules would be looser, he explained. However, once a positive test is confirmed from the Iowa lab, he said the government would be under several reporting requirements.
“That that would need to be reported internationally, that we have a detection of an H5 in Florida,” he said.
Swan health
The Marshalls repeatedly indicated they wanted to move past this dispute and continue focusing on making sure Eola’s swans were happy and healthy.
During their interview, they made a point to call on the city to put additional resources into the park’s maintenance and the swans’ care, which included items like upgraded quarantine and holding pens and additional ramps that helped cygnets get in and out of the water.
They also said adjustments were needed for the bird feeders: lowering one to prevent cygnets from being malnourished when they’re too young to reach the adult feeders and spreading the feeders out so the birds aren’t as concentrated on one end of the lake.
“There’s simple actions that need to be taken,” Marshall said. It won’t take much, and together, we can get a lot done.”
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