Tundra Swans

Ontario Swans

 Last week we drove a few miles from where I now live to see a large 'flock' of swans. (They were observed from a viewing stand which had a sign telling you what a large group of swans is called, but I forgot to write it down.) In fact, there are two places close by (Aylmer and Thedford) where one can see something very much like this.

Maryland Swans

     If I had gone looking for those same swans a few months ago I would have found them not far from where I grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Just a few miles outside of Princess Anne, Md. they could have been spotted in a field much like the one pictured below.

Migration

     After spending the winter in the relatively balmy weather along the mid-Atlantic coast they were just passing through on their return to the breeding grounds in the far, far north. The path they take looks something like this one and we are located at the first point where the line veers toward the northwest.

     As I mentioned back in a post about the “arrow storks”, a lot is now known about migratory routes and the migrants are often tracked using sophisticated technologies. Julia, the fine specimen pictured below wearing a cravat was, for example, banded back in 2006  on the Colville River Delta and scientists have been tracking her.

Sources: 

Aylmer Wildlife Management Area

Town of Aylmer

Discover Southern Ontario

Lambton County Museum
This location holds a Return of the Swans Festival which was held this year from March 10 to the 18th.

     There is some indication that the swans may be facing problems in Maryland. See:Chesapeake Bay Foundation
“While the numbers of tundra swans appear to be healthy across the continent, fewer and fewer are wintering in the Chesapeake Bay. This may be in part because the underwater grasses and soft clams they normally eat are being killed by pollution and other problems, Hindman said. As a result, more swans are feeding in farm fields. Others are skipping the Chesapeake region altogether and flying farther south.

 “Northern Alaska’s Tundra Swans Have a Long Haul for Winter Break:Every Year, the Birds Make a Months-long trip to Feast at the Chesapeake Bay,” Ann Cameron, Washington Post, Feb. 5, 2018