An issue I've heard about is that there are about 13 Trumpeter Swans and 4 cygnets in Almonte, Ontario, not far away on the Mississippi River. What concerns me are people giving away their locations and then people flocking to the location. Good birders don't spread this kind of information around. Bad things happened when we had the Snowy Owl irruption. People begin feeding them to lure them closer, and this is a bad thing. They get used to humans and this habituation does not bode well.
I heard the news on the radio and thought I'd read about it.
From the Trumpeter Swan Society:
There are three species of swans in North America. The Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) and Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus), sometimes known as the Whistling Swan, are native to North America. The Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) is a Eurasian species that has been introduced and now breeds in the wild in some areas. All three are very large all-white birds.
It turns out that these swans were extirpated in Ontario. A few people worked long and hard on a captive breeding program (since 1982) to raise swans from eggs imported from Alaska, to then release them into the wild. We know how important biodiversity is to our flora and fauna. Their only issue was to get them to migrate, which they ended up teaching them with an ultralight and a couple of them figured it out!
Trumpeter swans:
- extirpated due to lead poisoning, overhunting,
- before they reach sexual maturity, they lose about 60% of their population,
- hunted for feathers, meat, and their foot leather,
- between mid-February and March leave leave to breed in northern wetlands.
A number of them winter near Toronto, but these are unusual. We've Trumpeter Swans here in our area. We've seen them at Narrows Lock. People in our local area have seen them on a nearby lake.
Trumpeter swans from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢 🦢
In 2022 the group logged 168 sightings of trumpeter swans in the Ottawa area. That number more than doubled last year to 341.
10 comments:
When they show up in our area, I think the river is wide enough and the human population low enough that we don't have to worry much about habituation.
Hari OM
Magnificence! YAM xx
Love the swans, beautiful photos!
Take care, have a great weekend.
We are seeing a lot more of them in my area now.
I remember when I was a youngster, turkeys were very rare in the wild. Now there are so many of them they are a bit of a menace to farmers.
Loved seeing your swan video, especially the one grooming it's belly, then settling down on the ice. Lots of down must keep it warm! I do hope they can establish themselves without people's interference!
It is good that they are making a comeback.
Swans a re a very majestic bird. they have a beautiful call
Beautiful!
Harry Lumsden was the individual most involved with the reintroduction of the Trumpeter Swan to Ontario. He was awarded the Order of Canada for his dedication.
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