Trumpeter Swans
4/2/17
By David Brown
Last Saturday I awoke to a text saying that a friend had found a trumpeter swan at Rose Valley Lake. This species is rare enough in our area that a serious birder knows to skip breakfast and get to the lake as quickly as possible or risk not getting the species for your yearly county list.
I rushed to the lake and found the swan sitting on the water. After watching the swan for only a few minutes three bald eagles flew near it while fighting over a fish and the swan took flight. We watched it fly to the south end of the lake then take off to the west. About 10 minutes later we heard the swan calling and spotted it flying high over the lake. A short while later we spotted it again and watched it fly out of sight to the east. It was not seen again the rest of the day.
Bald Eagles fight over a fish while a Hooded Merganser watches nervously
Hooded Mergansers flying away from the scene
Trumpeter Swan M78
A trumpeter swan reintroduction program was launched in Ontario in 1982. As part of this effort swans are given leg bands and yellow wing tags allowing each individual to be recognized from a distance and family records are kept. This swan had wing tags M78. A little searching revealed that this individual is a male born in May 2013 in Burlington, Ontario and nicknamed Harvey. Harvey had been in Germantown, Maryland since November 2014 and was seen there the evening before, meaning that he had flown about 150 miles overnight.
There are two previous records of trumpeter swan in Lycoming County. Trumpeter swan M05, nicknamed Roquefort, was seen on the Susquehanna River near the Muncy boat launch from August to October 2014.
Trumpeter Swan L55, nicknamed Lassie, stayed near the Williamsport dam from August to October 2015. Like Harvey, Lassie also spent an extended amount of time in Maryland before visiting us. Lassie has spent this winter at LaSalle Park in Burlington, Ontario.
Trumpeter swans are the largest species of waterfowl in the world with wingspans that can exceed 10 feet. They can weigh over 25 pounds. An interesting fact about trumpeter swans is that they incubate their eggs with their huge webbed feet.
In addition to the trumpeter swan we also saw a group of eight tundra swans which is a smaller species that regularly migrates through our area in large flocks. Waterfowl migration is still in full swing and I saw over 20 species of ducks, geese, and swans at the lake that day. The lake is mostly thawed and will probably remain open through the spring. Now is a great time to go birding at lakes and the river to see waterfowl, gulls, ospreys and more. The next two months are the peak of bird activity so get outside and see what you can find.
