Hello Birders, Now that the adult pairs of Trumpeter Swans should be settled back on their nesting territories (there are approximately 50 nesting pairs that nest within the Twin Cities metro counties), the cygnets from last year are off on their own, looking for new, unoccupied-by -adult-swans wetlands where they can feed and eventually undergo their 1-month summer molt. This usually means more secluded wetlands with sufficient cover, aquatic vegetation, and minimal disturbance from boats, etc. The Trumpeter Swan Society, officed within Three Rivers Park District, is interested in reports where subadult trumpeters might be seen hanging out. Yearling swans often flock together with their siblings and other yearlings. Judging by the numbers of cygnets observed during the winters at such locations such as the Mississippi River, Monticello, the Otter Tail River, the St. Croix River and within the Park District itself, there should be plenty of yearlings around. However, not too many are generally reported and there is some speculation that some of the young birds go to the northern parts of the state or even up to Ontario for the summer. So, as folks are out there birding, we would appreciate hearing observations. 2006 hatch birds should still have some noticeable gray feathers on them, but, by late summer, most should be pure white. Trumpeters typically pair up at 3 years of age and will reproduce at 4 years of age, but there is some variability, of course. Thank you! Madeleine Linck The Trumpeter Swan Society 12615 County Rd 9 - Suite 100 Plymouth, MN 55441 763-694-7851 Fax: 763-557-4943 ttss at threeriversparkdistrict.org www.trumpeterswansociety.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-net_moumn.org/attachments/20070502/0db6684e/attachment.html
