Trumpeter%20Swans

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Trumpeter Swans
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Trumpeter Swan Information

• The Trumpeter Swan is the largest waterfowl
  species native to North America.
• Most Trumpeters weigh 21-30 pounds, although
  large males may exceed 35 pounds.
• The male is called a cob the female is called a
  pen the young swans up to one year of age are
  called "cygnets".

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Trumpeter Swan Information

• With a wingspan over 7 feet, these snow-white
  birds are truly spectacular. Standing on the
  ground, an adult Trumpeter stands about 4 feet
  high.
• Trumpeter Swans mate for life and may live for 20
  to 30 years.

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Can you find the Trumpeter Swan?
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Did you get it correct?

• If you picked the second swan you are correct.
• The first one is a Mute Swan, and the second bird
  is a Tundra Swan.

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History of Trumpeter Swans

• Trumpeter Swans were once fairly common
  throughout most of the northern United States and
  Canada. They were almost completely extinct due
  to hunting and the trade market.
• By 1900, it was widely believed that the species
  had become extinct. Fortunately, a small
  non-migratory population survived in the remote
  mountain valleys of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.
  Two nests were found in Yellowstone National Park
  in 1919 and in 1932, 69 Trumpeters were
  documented in the region. We now know that a
  population of several thousand Trumpeters also
  survived in remote parts of Alaska and Canada.

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Trumpeter Swans Today

• The Trumpeter Swans are now protected. They can
  no longer be hunted throughout their regions.
• Their population is slowly beginning to increase.

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Trumpeter Swans and their nest

• Nest-building begins in mid-April and may take up
  to two weeks.
• The nests may reach a diameter of 6 feet or more.
  Trumpeters build their nests on top of muskrat or
  beaver lodges, or they pile sedges and cattail
  tubers into a mound.
• The cob uproots the vegetation and transfers it
  to the pen, who piles it high, then uses her body
  to form a depression for the eggs.
• The same nest structure may be used from one year
  to the next.
• Water usually surrounds the nest making it
  difficult for a predator to surprise the swans.

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Trumpeter Swans and their nest

• When the pen leaves the nest, she covers the eggs
  with nest material. The cob stands guard on or
  near the nest to deter predators.
• Intruding swans or predators are vigorously
  chased away. The adults perform a "triumph
  display" after intruders are repelled. Facing one
  another, they quiver their wings and trumpet
  loudly.
• When the cygnets hatch in June, they weigh about
  7 ounces. After a day or two, they take to the
  water to feed on insects.

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References

• http//www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/er/factsheets/
  birds/swan.htm
• http//www.nps.gov/yell/nature/animals/birds/trump
  eter.htm
• http//www.trumpeterswansociety.org/id.htm