Trumpeter and Tundra Swans that winter in western Washington spend the summer in Alaska, northern British Columbia, and the Yukon Territory in Canada. They begin to migrate south in mid to late October.
The largest concentrations of wintering Trumpeter Swans in the lower 48 states are found in the Skagit Valley near Mount Vernon. Both Tundra and Trumpeter Swans occur here. The winter swan population is approximately 8,400 in Skagit County.
The swans in much of western Washington are heavily dependent on agricultural lands, especially dairy farms. They feed on after-harvest crops of potatoes, corn grown for dairy cattle feed, winter wheat/rye, and pasture grass.
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8 comments:
Oh they are beautiful I have only ever seen a few here near me. Hug B
8,400? That's a lot of dirty birds. Hitchcock should be notified if he were still around!
Don't see photos like this in Florida, so thank you.
I'll bet they leave a lot of "dirty" residue, too, which may work as fertilizer. Maybe?
so cute. i bet they make quite the mess. i'm thinking of all of my whistlers in the yard - then make them about 10x larger... :)
They're not quite so graceful looking when they've been in the mud!
Lol, and they can't have a bath!
A nice mud bath is probably good for the beak and skin. Haha!
Great photos. We've seen a lot more swans this year than most - yesterday on the way to Birch Bay we saw hundreds, not their usual area. It is always a thrill to see so many.
Lovely photos! We're going to be at Mt. Vernon the first week in April, and maybe some will still be there. We should get back home just about time to see them as they head north.
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