This scene is repeated twice daily on lakes and ponds throughout the Comox Valley of Vancouver Island. Over the past decade, as population numbers of trumpeter swans have continued to rebound remarkably from a dismal low of several hundred in the 1960s to well over 10,000 today, many Comox Valley farmers put out winter feed for the swans. This is part of a coordinated plan not only to provide for the birds' welfare but also to protect the sensitive grassland on which livestock depend for summer grazing. A hefty 10-kilo swan has a big appetite. More than a thousand of them remain to winter here and form the largest colony on the west coast of North America.
Smaller flocks settle in the Lower Mainland, while others fly as far south as Oregon.
As you drive around the valley, signs alert visitors to participating farms in the Trumpeter Swan Management Area . A good book to consult on trumpeter swan viewing areas is Nature Viewing Sites in the Comox Valley and Environs by the Comox Valley Naturalists Society. Augmented by the Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue Society's detailed regional map, these materials will fully equip you to prowl the backroads in search of more wildlife. Shoreline sites include Point Holes and Cape Lazo as well as Kin Beach, Singing Sands, and Seal Bay Parks. Seal Bay Regional Nature Park is a BC Wildlife Watch viewing site where California and Steller sea lions , seals , and migratory birds hang out at this sunny stretch of coastline.