Whooper swan, not native to North America, seen near Muskrat Falls

In an area that sees its fair share of people, wildlife and birds migrating through on their way somewhere else, Labrador may have just had its rarest visitor yet. 

Workers at the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project spotted an adolescent swan flying near the site about a week and a half ago. 

It turns out it was a whooper swan, a species not found in North America.

Bird enthusiast Tony Chubbs told CBC News the whooper swan breeds in Iceland and winters in Europe. He figures the juvenile bird was blown off course and separated from its migration group.

Chubbs said the bird didn't survive, likely due to exhaustion and lack of places to feed.

"I can tell from the bird [that] it's very thin, very gaunt," Chubbs said.

"It likely lost a lot of its body mass and no fat left, so likely getting to the point of starvation maybe even with the cold temperatures at night might have done it in, just with hypothermia or something like that." 

The swan's body was recovered after workers at Muskrat Falls spotted a fox checking it out.

Chubbs said the fox did some damage, but the bird will likely be mounted. He's hoping it will go on display at The Rooms, as possibly the first record of the swan's appearance in eastern North America.