Trumpeter Swan Stories
A single swan can make a difference
by Harry G. Lumsden
A female Trumpeter Swan raised by a captive pair held at Wye Marsh,
Ontario, has been the ancestor of a long line of offspring. She was hatched
in 1990, wing clipped, marked with wing tag Number 100 and released in
April 1991. By August 1991, she was flying. With no flying parents to
lead her, she started to wander south in December. She was observed at
two locations on Lake Simcoe, about 45 km South of Wye Marsh. On 29 January,
she was in the city of Burlington on the shore of Lake Ontario, about
75 km South of her previous sightings on Lake Simcoe, accompanied by two
other Wye Marsh swans. They were last seen on Lake Ontario on 27 March,
but by 8 April, she had made the 120 km-flight back to Wye Marsh. She
stayed in Wye Marsh over the winter of 1992-93 and paired with Number
206. In 1993, their nest was the first in southern Ontario for over 200
years. She laid seven eggs and hatched six cygnets, all of which survived.
Part of Wye Marsh is open to hunting and, in late September, Number 100
was knocked down by an irresponsible hunter. A search by Don Foxall, one
of the swan keepers at Wye Marsh, failed to find her body. Next morning,
to everyone's surprise, she turned up in the Sanctuary area of Wye Marsh.
She swam over a mile to return to her tome territory.
By 8 December, she was flying with her family again, turning up at Port
McNicoll, just east of Wye Marsh. On 12 December, she led her family,
including her mate who had not made the flight before, to Bronte Harbour
near Burlington on Lake Ontario, not far from where she had wintered in
1991-92. Her span of wandering on the shore of Lake Ontario between December
and March was about 22 km. On 30 March, the family had disappeared and
was next seen at Wye Marsh on 31 March. On a straight line this would
be only a 2.5-hour flight for a swan.
In 1994, Number 100 again nested at Wye Marsh and raised three cygnets.
By 21 December, she was with her cygnets on Burlington Bay at the western
end of Lake Ontario. She wintered in the same areas as in 1993-94. Her
mate, Number 206, was missing and turned up at Bramalea on 18 December.
He later wintered alone on Humber Bay on Lake Ontario.
Meanwhile, Number 100 left the Burlington area some time between 11 and
19 February, when she was seen again with her brood at Wye Marsh. By 26
February 1995, she had acquired a new mate, Number 338. They nested and
raised a brood of six.
Last seen at Wye Marsh on 20 December, the family was reported at Cranberry
Cove Park, northeast of Burlington on Lake Ontario on 22 December. On
25 February 1996, the pair was seen on Lake Ontario, but was at Wye Marsh
on the 26 th. Number 100 laid eight eggs, but her old mate
206 returned, fought with Number 338 and drove him off. She deserted her
nest and spent the summer unpaired on Wye Marsh. Her deserted eggs were
placed in an incubator and three hatched.
Without a brood, she and mate 206 did not migrate to the shore of Lake
Ontario in the winter of 1996-97. In the summer of 1997, the pair moved
to a strip of marsh on the Wye River where they raised five cygnets. They
moved late that winter and were not seen at their usually locations on
Lake Ontario until 1 January 1998. They stayed until at least 21 February,
but were back at Wye Marsh on 28 February.
In 1998, Female 100 nested again on the Wye River and hatched seven cygnets,
but lost three. She wintered with her four cygnets and mate at Wye Marsh,
but on 1 March 1999, her mate and one cygnet were killed when they flew
into hydro wires. The cygnet contained 71 lead pellets and had 10 ppm
lead in its tissues.
By 19 April 1999, she had formed a new pair bond with number 366, which
was her grandson. They disappeared for the summer and may have nested
unsuccessfully at nearby Sucker Creek. In the fall and early winter, they
remained at Wye Marsh where they were last seen on 25 January 2000. The
next recorded sighting was on 29 January at Bronte Beach on Lake Ontario.
They stayed until at least 21 February, but were back at Wye Marsh on
29 February. They were at Sucker Creek in May of 2000, had four cygnets
with them in August, but only three in September.
The brood was last seen on 28 November 2000 near Penetanguishene in the
Wye Marsh area and then was next recorded at Bronte Beach on 19 December.
The swan family was regularly seen throughout January and February until
4 March. On 23 April 2000, the pair was back at Sucker Creek and started
to nest. Then, a disgraceful incident occurred. A couple in a fast boat
deliberately ran over Number 100, breaking her wing in two places. She
was rescued and has been under treatment since.
Female 100's offspring from 1993, 1994, 1995 and two of her cygnets from
2000 were banded and marked with wing tags. Of the marked birds, at least
six are known to have nested and their offspring in turn have bred. Number
100 is known to have produced at least 70 descendants, many of which migrate
from the Wye Marsh area to winter on the northwest shore of Lake Ontario.
In the winter of 2000-01, about half of the 58 swans that wintered in
the Burlington area were from Wye Marsh.
This story has some bearing on the problem of the future of the Greater
Yellowstone population of Trumpeter Swans. The accidental kill of trumpeters
during a Tundra Swan hunt, although probably very small, may be very important
in the ultimate survival of the genetically discrete Trumpeter Swan population.
It may not take many pioneers from the Greater Yellowstone breeding population
to establish a migratory tradition. This should have the effect of returning
birds in better condition and, therefore, more productive to the breeding
grounds. Tundra Swan hunting on the Bear River Refuge should be observed
carefully to determine the impact on trumpeters. There must be adequate
monitoring of the use of new areas by pioneering trumpeters. Indeed, every
bird is important at this stage, especially females.
