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Tundra Swan
Cygnus columbianus
Family: ANATIDAE
Order: Anseriformes
Spanish Common Name: Cisne chiflador
French Common Name: Cygne siffleur
(c) Glen Tepke |
Courtesy Kenn Kaufman |
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Conservation Status
Global Population: 296,800
Continental Population: 181,300
Watchlist Status: 
Tundra and Trumpeter Swans are the only two swan species native to North America; the Tundra Swan is the smaller and more numerous of the two. Many cultures, like the ancient Greek and the Navajo, have revered swans for their elegance and grace. The Tundra Swan is admired for its pure white plumage, long neck, courtship displays performed by life-long pairs, and ringing calls that inspired explorer Meriwether Lewis to call them whistling swans.
Range & Distribution
Tundra Swans breed in low densities close to coastal areas from the Aleutian Islands north and east to Baffin Island, Canada. This swan also breeds around Canada's Hudson Bay. Tundra Swans sort themselves into eastern and western wintering populations. Western swans winter along the Pacific coast and at scattered interior locations that do not freeze, while eastern swans winter from New Jersey to South Carolina.
A legend for the range map to the right can be found here.
Population Status & Trends
Recent Christmas Bird Count data indicate a slight decline in wintering Tundra Swans. In places like Maryland, local wintering populations have experienced severe declines attributed to habitat degradation and competition with non-native Mute Swans. However, surveys at key breeding sites have recorded modest increases since the 1980s.
Conservation Issues & Efforts
Low populations make Tundra Swans particularly sensitive to the loss of breeding and migrating habitat. Petroleum development threatens Arctic breeding sites like the Mackenzie River Delta, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. Nesting and staging are disrupted by contamination, poisoning from lead shot ingestion, human activity, and predators attracted by human garbage. Interior wetlands between the Arctic tundra and both coasts provide vital rest areas and food sources. Siltation, invasive species, and conversion to farmland make these wetlands uninhabitable for Tundra Swans. In 1995, as many as 6,000 Tundra Swans used Rieck's Lake in Alma, Wisconsin daily. By 2004, the daily count had plunged to 300 Tundra Swans. Urged by local activists, the Federal Scenic Byways program funded dredging efforts and habitat rehabilitation at Rieck's Lake.
On their wintering grounds, Tundra Swans are impacted by the destruction of aquatic plants, competition from non-native Mute Swans, and hunting. Tundra Swans have adapted by foraging in agricultural fields, where they attract the attention, and sometimes the ire, of landowners. The Atlantic Flyway Council and local agencies have developed plans for managing the competing Mute Swans, which take over vital shelter and foraging sites on shallow waters. Surprisingly, the United States still permits and monitors the hunting of Tundra Swans in eight states. Large-scale efforts like the Atlantic Flyway Eastern Tundra Swan Project collect data for establishing hunting limits.
What You Can Do
Join a local field trip to look for Tundra Swans as they migrate through or winter in your area. Consider Wisconsin's Alma Tundra Swan Watch, which brings people, swans, and vital habitat together during fall migration.
Consider providing for the protection and research of Tundra Swans by purchasing a Federal Duck Stamp.
Advocate for lead-free ammunition and sinkers to protect wildlife and children. Tundra Swans can ingest expended lead shot and fishing sinkers, which have caused large die-offs.
Join the efforts of the National Audubon Society in supporting the preservation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other refuges threatened by oil and gas development. .
For more actions you can take, including Audubon activities, please visit our resources page.
For More Information
References
Kaufman, Kenn. Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, 1996.
Limpert, R. J. and S. L. Earnst. 1994. Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus). In The Birds of North America, No. 89 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists' Union.
" Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) Invasive Species in the Chesapeake Watershed." Chesapeake Bay Program and Maryland Sea Grant (University System of Maryland). 26 June 2002.
Petrie, S. E. and K. L. Wilcox. "Migration chronology of Eastern-Population Tundra Swans."
Canadian Journal of Zoology 81 (2003) 861-870.
Sibley, David Allen. The Sibley Guide to Birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 2000.
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