Photograph by Hadassah Zohara
TTSS Blog 2019
OREGON: Sunriver. “It’s been a great year for Central Oregon swans”
"Sunriver Nature Center staff can’t believe the odds. Exactly two years since four baby trumpeter swans hatched on the Fourth of July, another four fuzzy heads appeared Thursday from their mother’s nest on the nature center’s Lake Aspen. Two pairs of trumpeter swans, Gracie and Gus and the Sisters' swan pair, Eloise and Pete, are part of the state’s breeding program that is trying to help repopulate the once threatened species. The protected species is still slowly recovering after being hunted to near-extinction in the early 1900s, when none remained in Oregon. Today, about 35 trumpeter swans live year-round in Oregon." Read more...
OREGON: Not Singing the Swan Song.The tales of two trumpeter couples in Central Oregon. There is happy news in Oregon as our partnership trumpeter swan breeding pair at Aspen Lakes Golf resort in Oregon hatched 8 cygnets! The pair met last year and hatched one cygnet which was released at Summer Lake Wildlife Area this spring. This summer the happy pair welcomed a very large number of cygnets. Read more...
MONTANA: Montana's Centennial Valley, west of Yellowstone National Park, is known to millions of school children who read E.B. White's, "Trumpet of the Swan." Kristen Inbody of The Great Falls Tribune shares how ranching, a refuge and a beloved children's novel are part of the fabric of isolated valley. It includes beautiful photographs, a short video of trumpeter swans in the valley, and fine storytelling (plus maps). Read more...
OREGON
Our Oregon Restoration Project had great news! "At last, Gracie will have a second chance at love.
The adored trumpeter swan at the Sunriver Nature Center has been alone since losing her mate, Chuck, on Thanksgiving Day in 2017, when he was illegally shot and killed by a young hunter on the Deschutes River northwest of Sunriver.
But on Monday, she was introduced to a new mate, who was transported from the W.K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary in Southwest Michigan." Read more...
IOWA: Share in the excitement of hundreds of Iowa students who came to learn about trumpeter swans and watch their release three Iowa locations. Watch this 30 second video posted on TTSS's Facebook page.
Twenty trumpeter swan cygnets were the “stars of the show” at this year’s southern Iowa swan releases in early May. The nearly-one-year-old cygnets were donated from zoos in Cleveland, Kansas City, Green Bay, Oklahoma City, Bronx, Anchorage, Southwick (Massachusetts), Topeka, Omaha and Maryland.
Eight of the trumpeter swan cygnets were released at Iowa’s Lake Anita State Park. Hundreds of enthusiastic Iowa students, teachers, and the public came to see the release and learn about trumpeter swans...
MONTANA: "Watching this trumpeter once again reminded me of how important conservation properties like Teller are by providing undisturbed stopover habitat for species like the trumpeter. Even if it was just a few days, the resting and foraging habitat provided to this bird will ensure that it will depart to Canada or Alaska in good shape. My hope is that this bird returns next year with a mate to consider raising a brook on Teller." Read more...
The New York Times shares the successes of trumpeter swan restoration, the dedication of people who made it happen, and continuing regional issues trumpeter swans still face, in this fascinating article written by Karen Weintraub. From sea to shining sea, trumpeter swans are making a comeback. Read more...
My Swan Story by Carlene H.
My husband and I went out to Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge in Cheney, Washington on Saturday February 2nd because it was a warm 40 degrees and in the next few days we were going to be in the deep freeze! As soon as we walked up the trail, we heard the powerful flapping of wings overhead and then looked up and saw a pair of Trumpeter swans flying in and landing near us on Middle Pine Lake. They preened a little bit and then swam around to eat. Parts of the lake were frozen but most of it was not. There were times when the sky was blue and it made you forget it is winter! I stood still for awhile and they got very close. It was nice to see such loveliness in winter.
OREGON: The Trumpeter Swan Society has partnered with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to build a healthy Oregon breeding flock; releasing birds at Summer Lake Wildlife Area, which is a good place for bird watchers to see them. Good news is that trumpeter swans are migrating through Oregon, and February is a good month to spot them among the vast tundra swan flocks moving through the Klamath Basin. Read about their comeback to North America, the challenges they face, and the what is being done to help their return...
"The provincial minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development made the comment in a press release announcing that the wetlands just north of Duncan are the province’s newest wildlife management area.
“Wildlife management areas help to meet government’s mandate to sustainably manage B.C.’s ecosystems, rivers and lakes, as well as improving wildlife management and habitat conservation,” Donaldson said.
The unique wetland is home to more than 200 species of birds including but most certainly not limited to a massive trumpeter swan population and great blue herons. It’s also home to the rare Garry oak ecosystem and is a significant fish and wildlife habitat as well. Read more...
Adam Janke, Assistant Professor - Natural Resource and Ecology Management at Iowa State University, explains the persistent challenge of mitigating lead poisoning in wildlife. There are several resources with further information at the end of the article.
