Both Tundra and Trumpeter Swans are heading north. Lucky people throughout the midwestern states and central provinces have been outside at the right moment, right when a flock wings overhead. Their haunting cries, beautiful plumage, and interesting life history make swans among the most beloved of migrants. They begin their journey on their wintering grounds along the Atlantic coast, and travel all the way to Alaska and the Canadian Arctic, where they will build their nests. Recording Courtesy of Lang Elliott Tundra Swans begin migration with their lowest body weight of the year, following the long winter.
Swans stay at their staging areas for two to three weeks at a time while fattening up.
They will make their nests in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic, where days are long but the season is short, and their babies will have a lot of growing to do in the short time before they head south again. Keeping Track Dr. Scott Petrie and swan Swans are secretive and wary on their nesting grounds, and they all look pretty much the same when they are in a group, so individuals are usually hard to keep track of. But Dr. Scott Petrie at the Long Point Bird Observatory in Ontario is keeping track of some individuals that he marked with satellite transmitters. Dr. Petrie captures some swans by firing rocket nets over them in wetlands and in flooded fields. Once captured, he weighs, measures, and bands each swan and figures out what sex it is.