Trumpeter Swans Return to Historic Range and Migratory Route

Back to Map Page May 1999 Sudbury, Ontario A century ago tundra swans migrated every year between the southern plains of Indiana and Illinois and their summer breeding grounds in Canada. Unregulated hunting, combined with the loss of wetland habitat, has reduced the range of these birds to small corners of the continent. But a promising step toward recovery occurred this May when a migrating trumpter swan raised in Ontario successfully returned to her birthplace for the summer. Biologists hope that this swan will be the first of a restored migratory population that will travel their historic route between southern Indiana and Ontario every year. Trumpeter swans are the largest waterfowl in North America. Larger than their cousins, the more common tundra swan, trumpeters are rare. The successful migration of this trumpeter from her wintering ground to her summer breeding ground is the result of a successful experiment in training by ultralight aircraft. The ultralight was used because swans must learn migratory routes, normally from their parents. The Migratory Bird Reserch Group, a collaborative group of public and private scientists, pioneered the technique with Canada geese that were trained to follow an ultralight at an environmental research center at Arlie, Virginia. In the summer of 1998 the group began teaching several young swans near Sudbury, Ontario,to follow the ultralight in flight. In December, the airplane took off, with four young trumpeters following, for the Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge in Indiana. This was the first time in more than a century that a migratory population of trumpeters swan had been in Indiana. In February 1999 the swans left the refuge. One arrived in Sudbury on May 5. The others had not yet shown up, but there is hope that they will. The Migratory Bird Research Group and the Defenders of Wildlife hope to reintroduce trumpeters to several historic migratory routes from the Midwest and the southern Atlantic coast to Canada. For further information, see these related sites: Migratory Bird Management Office, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The Trumpeter Swan Society (links to many swan information sources) To read more, see Environmental Science, a Global Concern, Cunningham and Saigo, 5th ed. Recovery plans for endangered species: p. 284-285 Environmental Science, Enger and Smith, 6th ed. Migration routes for waterfowl: p. 209 What is being done to prevent extinction? p. 213 Back to Map Page feedback form | permissions | international | locate your campus rep | request a review copy digital solutions | publish with us | customer service | mhhe home Copyright ©2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies. Any use is subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. McGraw-Hill Higher Education is one of the many fine businesses of the The McGraw-Hill Companies.