The Magnificent Swans!

Lorraine Julien | Jan 20, 2016

Perhaps it was the mild weather and open water but at least a couple of small flocks of swans were spotted in the Land O’ Lakes area recently.

Helen Hoogsteen of Big Clear Lake, near Arden, reported that she saw two adult swans and three grayish smaller ones on their lake shortly before Christmas. Around that same time, Steve Blight reported that he saw four to five Tundra swans on McGowan Lake, which is adjacent to Hwy. 7 between Sharbot Lake and Perth. Probably Helen’s swans were Tundras, as well, since they are North America’s most numerous and wide ranging swan. Lately, almost every year, there seem to be sightings of swans in the waters adjacent to this section of Hwy. 7. Silver Lake is another area the swans like to visit.

Though there are seven species of swans worldwide, we have only two native species in North America: the Tundra Swan (sometimes called the Whistling Swan) and the Trumpeter. There is a third type that originated in Eurasia and that is the Mute Swan, which is mostly prevalent along the east coast but has also taken up residence along the shores of the Great Lakes.

If you are lucky enough to see these birds and have a good pair of binoculars, there are a few things that differentiate them aside from the fact that all the adults have white plumage. You may sometimes also see swans with rusty stained heads and necks – this is because their long necks are often probing for food in lake-bottom, iron-rich mud. The best way to tell the swans apart is by their calls, which I’ll describe in the following paragraphs.

It is amazing that cold water seems to have no effect on swans. Perhaps it is partly because their feet have what is called a ‘counter current’ system of blood exchange so that the cold is absorbed by the warm blood in the capillaries of their feet, keeping the cold blood from entering the core body (some other waterfowl have this same system).

The largest of the swans is the Trumpeter, which can weigh as much as 30 lb. (some males have been known to weigh as much as 35 lb.) This beautiful big bird is the largest waterfowl in North America. It has a long, straight neck with black facial skin around the eye blending in with the large black bill – appearing almost mask-like. Its nasal, far-reaching call is “oh OH” similar to a French horn, from which it gets its name. The long windpipe of Trumpeters probably helps to produce this deep, resonating sound. As their great wings drive the Trumpeters to higher altitudes, they retract their large feet under the tail.

Tundra swans are the most plentiful and the smallest of our two native species at an average size of about 15 lb. The neck is a bit shorter and not as straight as that of the Trumpeter and its large black bill usually has a small yellow patch on it. When silent, the best way to tell them apart from the Trumpeter is that the eye is not surrounded by black facial skin. Their call is a kind of “whouu-hoouu” mixed with yelping and barking sounds, especially when the young join in!

It’s really exciting to see our native birds visiting some nearby lakes as it’s not long ago that they were almost extinct. When Europeans settled in the North American wilderness, the swans paid dearly, as their beauty and size made them tempting targets. Between the 1850s and 1870s, the Hudson’s Bay Company handled some 17,000 swan skins, many of them from Trumpeters. You’d wonder what the skins and quills would be used for but following are a few uses. Quills were used for pens beginning in the early 1700’s. Trumpeter quills were much preferred as they were very hard, yet elastic, and could be used for drawing fine detail. By the 1830s, well over a million quills annually were taken from both swans and geese. Since only 10 quills were taken from each bird, more than 100,000 birds would be sacrificed in only one year.

The chamois-like skins were used in many ways: powder puffs for women, coat linings, vests, ceremonial robes, ornaments, boas, wallets, caps, jackets, pillows and mattresses to name a few. The beautiful feathers were prized by natives but mostly used for adornment in the European market. In Europe, a swan was the principal food at banquets available usually to the upper crust segment of society. In medieval times in England, ownership of a swan was a mark of social standing.

It’s easy to see that the North American swans didn’t stand a chance of survival without help!

Tundra swans fared much better than the Trumpeters though, as the Tundras tended to nest in the near Arctic and were, therefore, not as accessible. Also the fact that Tundras tend to fly higher than Trumpeters certainly helped in their survival. When fall arrives in the far north, Tundras begin flying south in wedge formation with a strong old cob leading the way. Cygnets (young) are placed between the veteran flyers and are sucked along by the air turbulence stirred up by the stronger birds ahead. Wings beating slowly and regularly, the Tundras climb until they are nearly invisible from the ground. When storms or mountains force them higher, ice crystals swirl from their wing tips. Many years ago, it was a Tundra swan flying at 6000 feet that struck and crippled the tail of an airplane, causing it to crash.

By the late 1800s, Trumpeters, in particular, were almost extinct until conservancy acts and measures came into being both in the U.S. and in Canada. Originally native to Ontario, the Trumpeter Swan is getting help in its comeback here due to provincial re-introduction programs that were started in the early 1980s to re-establish the Trumpeter in its former habitat and range. Conservation groups in Ontario are all part of the folks helping the Ontario Trumpeter Swan Restoration Group which was started, and is led, by Biologist Harry Lumsden. The Restoration Group works with the Trumpeter Swan Society, both of which are helping to bring these great birds back with numbers now measuring in the thousands in North America. (Note: I have a list of Trumpeter refuges in Ontario that you can visit. If you are interested, please email me).

Swans have been admired and loved so much by cultures around the world that they have been featured in stories and legends for thousands of years, including the ancient Greek myth of the silent swan of Greece singing a most beautiful song at its death (swan song!) There are even North American legends about swans. It seems as though the birds themselves are heralding a major conservation victory with their deep, reverberating calls (we’re back with a lot of help from our friends!)

Please send your observations to Lorraine Julien at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Steve Blight at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.