Above: In the video above I show how I just added another 50 feet of 3/8 of an inch braided nylon rope from Canadian Tire (it is on spools, just ask Jerry at the Yonge & Davenport store to measure you out a length)...This is the final step in closing all gaps & fixing any stray rope that may cause tripping...This makes my total rope length for this eight prototype design for a trumpeter Swan nest to be 750 feet...Apparently no matter how thick the rope I use, I end up using 750 feet for a 43 inch diameter nest...

below(this is the step before the last, the night before the video one): Glow in the dark green rope 3/8 of an inch, 100 feet...Added it this evening...Total rope length count is now 700 feet...(before, 500 red white braid poly. 100 feet white twisted nylon)...had to fill in the gaps...(turns out rope was on tremendous sale at Canadian Tire tonight...wow! May get some more...) Now I am going to have to get a Trumpeter swan to model the nest...Will post when that happens...

two things which are neat together: (maybe 4 or 5 hundred dollars total though)...
http://www.amazon.com/Powerblanket-Portable-Heating-Thawing-Blanket/dp/B002MDOP9A/ref=pd_sim_sbs_misc_4 This link is to a 'plug into your car lighter or 12V portable rechargeable battery', heating pad which can get wet & is 4 feet by 4 feet in dimension...I imagine the Trumpeter swans might like one of these under their nest for winter, or as a nest maybe...Under might be better...

http://www.amazon.com/Orion-Dynamo-Rechargeable-Power-Station/dp/B001IFS300/ref=sr_1_1?s=miscellaneous&ie=UTF8&qid=1327872684&sr=1-1 here is a cool portable rechargeable battery which also does other stuff-to plug your heating pad into...