The Trumpeter Swan is North America's largest species of waterfowl. It is also the only swan found exclusively within this continent. Named for its distinct, trumpet-like call, it is widely admired today for its beauty and grace. Unfortunately, this has not always been the case, as it was driven nearly to extinction less than a century ago. The Trumpeter Swan has benefited tremendously from modern conservation efforts, but remains one of North America's least common native waterfowl species.

Today's Trumpeter Swan population is largely based in Alaska and the western Canadian provinces, but the birds also breed locally in many areas across the Rockies and western plains. Modern range expansion is thought to be further east than the limits of their actual historic range.

 

A legend for the range map to the right can be found here.

Historically, Trumpeter Swans occurred across much of western North America. As civilization pushed westward over recent centuries, Trumpeter populations were quickly decimated. By the early 1930s, only 69 birds remained south of the US-Canada border, although small populations were later discovered in Alaska. Nearly extinct by 1940, the species has been recovering slowly yet steadily over the past half century. Thanks to numerous conservation efforts, these majestic birds are beginning to reoccupy areas where they haven't been found for decades, and their range is expanding in certain areas. Marked birds from various re-introduction programs started in the 1980s and 1990s are now being reported in areas where the species formerly occurred. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data from 2005 indicate that all three Trumpeter populations (Pacific Coast, Rocky Mountain, and Interior) are at a modern high, with over 34,000 birds surveyed continent-wide between May 2005 and January 2006.

 

The species' rapid decline over the past two and a half centuries was largely due to unchecked hunting for skins, feathers, and meat. Favored habitat was also lost as much of the birds' range was converted to agricultural use. The species has been federally protected under the Migratory Bird Act since 1918, but has also benefited from the additional protections afforded it over more recent decades. Successful reintroduction programs have been undertaken in places such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario, Ohio and New York. Trumpeters are currently doing well in these areas.

 

Bird watchers, photographers, and outdoor enthusiasts should avoid disturbing this highly sensitive species.

 

Hunters should avoid lead shot for the well being of Trumpeter Swans and all wildlife.

 

Report sightings of collared, banded, or otherwise marked Trumpeter Swans to your local game commission or wildlife management agency.

 

Participate in the Trumpeter Swan Society's Adopt a Swan Program, which seeks to raise the funds necessary to further study the specific causes and solutions to the lead poisoning that is killing so many birds in the Pacific Northwest. Funds go towards the study, research, and monitoring of Trumpeter Swans in Washington and British Columbia.

 

For more actions you can take, including Audubon activities, please visit our resources page.

The Trumpeter Swan Society is an organization dedicated to the welfare of wild Trumpeter Swans.

 

Visit our resources page for more information about this species.

Mitchell, C. D. 1994. Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator). In The Birds of North America, No. 105 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists' Union.

 

Kaufman, Kenn. Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, 1996

 

Kortright, Francis H. The Ducks, Geese and Swans of North America. The American Wildlife Institute, Washington D.C., 1943

 

Moser, T.J. The 2005 North American Trumpeter Swan Survey. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. April 2006.

 

The Trumpeter Swan Society. Swans Dying of Lead Poisoning in Washington State and British Columbia. . 2005.

 

Whan, B., Rising, G., Shea, R. "Should Trumpeter Swans Be Introduced to the Eastern United States and Canada?" Birding 34(4): 341-343,345. August 2002.