A couple of weeks ago, friends that live on the Cisco Chan of Lakes in Land O Lakes told Monica and I the shoreline in front of their house had open water which didn’t surprise me considering the milder weather we have been experiencing. What did surprise me was the following day they saw two Trumpeter swans in that small area of open water, because Trumpeter swans usually arrive at the end of March or the beginning of April. At one time Trumpeter swans were native to Wisconsin but by the late 1800s were extirpated from the state. That changed by the late 1980s when close to 400 eggs were collected in Alaska and brought back to Wisconsin, with over 350 hatching. This new population grew significantly and by 2009 Wisconsin had up to 200 trumpeter swan nesting pairs and were taken off the endangered species list.

These beautiful white birds are not only the heaviest bird (weighing over 20 pounds) but are also the largest waterfowl (4ft high and a wingspan of 7ft) in north America and their neck is as long as its body that they use to reach and pull up aquatic vegetation that they dine on. Trumpeters can live over 20 years and will mate for life unless one dies but have been known to separate if nesting failure occurs. Then in April to early May, the Pen (female) will lay and incubate 5 to 9 eggs every other day while the Cob (male) protects the nest. When these eggs hatch, the Cygnets (baby swans) are born gray, will begin to swim in 2 days and live off aquatic insects and will have all their feathers in 10 weeks. Even though trumpeter swans will adjust to people and boats, if threatened can and will become very aggressive, so if you see these incredible white swans or any other waterfowl on a lake, please give them their space.