1. Trumpeter Swans

2. 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".

3. 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.

4. Can you find the Trumpeter Swan?

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. References: • http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/er/factsheets/birds/swan.htm • http://www.nps.gov/yell/nature/animals/birds/trumpeter.htm • http://www.trumpeterswansociety.org/id.htm