Manitoba swan 3H (middle swan) was spotted in Iowa during spring migration and reported through Trumpeter Watch. Photograph by Mike Clapper
Tracking Midwest Swans
Did you know swans can be tracked through collars that record their locations?
More than 100 Midwest trumpeter swans were tracked through these special collars.
They had GPS/GSM tracking collars which record the GPS coordinates where a swan is every 15 minutes. The information is stored in the collar. When the swan goes by a cell phone tower, the information is downloaded for scientists. The tracking collars have black panels which are solar panels to recharge the batteries.
Biologists and people just like you are able to see where the swans traveled over three years. A public tracking map through the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit was able to track swans in 'real time'.
The swans locations on the website map were updated every few days over the three year period. Each swan had a collar with its own unique code.
Now YOU can see where swans from different states and one province traveled. Some swans traveled far distances. Others stayed close to an area through the year. Click on the photo below to see where all the swans traveled!
States and provinces participating are Arkansas, Iowa, Manitoba, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Let's take a look at swan travels by state and by province
Midwest swans were tracked through GPS/GSM tracking collars. "GPS" means Global Positioning System.
Each collar has black solar panels. The solar panels collect sunlight which keeps the battery in the collar charged up to record where the swan is every 15 minutes.
When a swan with a GPS/GSM collar passed near a cell phone tower, the collar's information was downloaded for researchers to see. That information was put onto the website and made the swan's movements into points and lines that could be connected.
Arkansas
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Swans received their tracking collars in the winter in Arkansas. They spent the summer in Canada!
Map showing Arkansas swans' year round travels
This map shows the travels of the three trumpeter swans that received GPS/GSM collars in December (winter time) 2021 in Heber Springs, Arkansas.
The three swans each had families of their own. They spend the summer in western Ontario and eastern Manitoba!
Map through the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
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Female trumpeter swan 8L. Can you find where she spends the summer by looking at the map?
Arkansas swan 8L with her mate
This swan spends the summer in Ontario, Canada and spends the winter near Heber Springs, Arkansas.
The white GPS/GSM collar has black solar panels that keep the battery charged. The collar collects location information every 15 minutes. When the swan passes a cell phone tower, the information in the collar is downloaded so the swan's locations are tracked!
Photo by Kenny Nations, taken in Arkansas the day after 8L received her collar.
Iowa
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Iowa put GPS collars on adult swans (white swans). Some of the adults had young swans that hatched during the summer. The young swans were collared with green neck collars that don't collect data. Iowa wanted to see what happens to swan families during the year by tracking both the parents and the youngsters.
Map showing Iowa swans' year round travels
Iowa swans spent a lot of time in Iowa. Some of them went to other states in the winter- Kansas and Missouri. Two swans spent the winter near the Mississippi River- one near St. Louis, Missouri and another east of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Map by University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
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This swan family is very large! The parent, at the front of the line, has a GPS tracking collar 4C. In this family, none of the young swans have green collars.
Iowa swan family of GPS swan 4C
photo by David Vote
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This young swan has a green collar. It received its collar in Iowa in the summer of 2020. It spent its first winter in Missouri, at Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge. One of its parents had GPS collar 1C. Its three brothers and sisters also have green collars.
Green collared Iowa swan 7P2 went to Missouri its first winter
This is young swan 7P2. It has gray feathers. The swan will grow white feathers its second summer. 7P2 was one of four cygnets that hatched in 2020 to parents GPS swan 1C and its mate. 7P2 and its brothers and sisters got green collars in the late summer of 2020, the same day one of its parents got its GPS collar 1C.
If you look carefully at its legs, you can see the swan also has a green leg band (marked 7P2) and a metal leg band from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Photo by Ron Boggs of Iowa swan 7P2 at Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge in Missouri.
Manitoba
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Trumpeter swans that spend the summer in Manitoba all head south for the winter.
Map showing Manitoba swans' year round travels
Map: University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
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Manitoba swan 9H spends the winter along the Mississippi River near LaCrosse, Wisconsin
Manitoba swan 9H
Manitoba swan 9H spends the winter along the Mississippi River near LaCrosse, Wisconsin
Photo by Steven Niewoehner
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Manitoba swan 5H spends the summer near Hecla Marsh by Winnipeg and spends the winter in Missouri
Manitoba swan 5H
Photo by Michelle Porter
Minnesota
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Minnesota had the most swans with GPS collars- nearly 40 swans. They traveled near and far. Do you see the amazing travels of one swan to Hudson Bay in Canada!
Map showing Minnesota swans' year round travels
Maps through the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
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Minnesota swan 6R stayed near the Minneapolis/St. Paul Minnesota area for the winter.
Minnesota swan 6R
Minnesota swan 6R stayed near the Minneapolis/St. Paul Minnesota area for the winter.
Photo by Steven Borgfelt.
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Minnesota swan 3R spends the winter in Missouri
Photo by Dave Hoffman
Ohio
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Ohio swans with GPS collars mostly stayed in Ohio through the year. Some of its rivers and lakes don't freeze, so the swans are able to eat the food there all year long. But three Ohio swans surprised everyone! Check out the map to see where swans 6M, 9N and 7M traveled. Check out their photos to see these swans!
Map showing Ohio swans' year round travels
Map through the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
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Ohio swan 6M traveled to Manitoba
Although it looks like the code could be 6N, it really is 6M. You can see the tiny feathers on its eyelids!
Photo by Greg Snowden
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Ohio swan 9N traveled to western Ontario
Photo by Kathyrn Cubert
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Ohio swan 7M spent time in Pennsylvania
Photo by Sheryl Sundean
Wisconsin
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Wisconsin swans traveled to Manitoba, western Ontario, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio!
Map showing Wisconsin swans' travels
Map Minnesota and the Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
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Wisconsin put GPS collars on the swan siblings that hatched during the summer in one family to see if their travels differed over the three year time period. The young swans had gray feathers and pink on their bills. Their bill turns black during their first year, and they grow white feathers their second summer.
Wisconsin swan 4P, a young swan (cygnet), went to Manitoba
This young swan is about 3 months old. It is feeding on stringy wetland vegetation at Crex Meadows in northwest Wisconsin soon after receiving its collar. It traveled north to spend time in Manitoba, Canada!
Photo by Kathy Java
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Wisconsin swan 5P spends the summer in northern Wisconsin. It flies to Missouri to a special place called Riverlands to spend the winter.
Wisconsin swan 5P spends the winter near St. Louis, Missouri
Photo by Chris Barrigar
