Trumpeter Swans from Kellogg Bird Sanctuary
released in Sleeping Bear Dunes area

Six Trumpeter Swans were released in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore the week of July 16th, 2007 in a cooperative effort between the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary and the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians (LRBOI).

"Everything went great! I just talked to with them up there and the first report is good. They are handing out and doing fine" reported Mark Knee, LRBOI Wildlife Biologist who is in charge of the re-introduction program.

Since the start of the LRBOI Trumpeter Swan re-introduction program in 2003 a total of 28 swans from the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary have been released in hopes of establishing breeding populations. Michigan State University conducted a population survey in 2004 to determine the status of Trumpeter Swans in Michigan. That survey

showed that there were 499 adult Trumpeter Swans in Michigan and 156 cygnets. Of those 655 individual swans, 297 were in the Upper Peninsula, 172 in northern Lower Peninsula and 186 in the southern portion of the Lower Peninsula

Visit the Nation Park Service web site for more details.

Swan Basics

What is a swan?

Taxonomists (people who study how living things are related to each other) classify waterfowl based on the number of cervical vertebrae (neck bones) they have. Ducks have 16 or fewer neck vertebrae, geese have 17-23 neck vertebrae, and swan have 24 or more neck vertebrae. The different length of neck allows many species of waterfowl to live together without competing with each other for food. Each kind of waterfowl can reach different types of food under water.

Which swan is which?

But how do you tell one swan from another? Just looking at the swan will tell you a lot. Most adult swan are white, but there are differences in the bills, shape of the head, size of the body and sound of their voice. Each species of swan have differently shaped trachea, which gives each species a different sounding voice.

Tundra and Trumpeter swans are the only swans native to North America. In various parts of the United States, however, there are significant populations of non-native Mute swans. All three species are large, all-white birds. Mute Swan are easily distinguished by the bright orange bill and distinctive knob on the forehead. Trumpeters and Tundras are similar looking species that can be more difficult to identify from each other.

Voice: The vocal sound of a swan is determined by the shape of its trachea. The Trumpeter Swan has a long convoluted trachea, which allows sound to resonate. The Mute Swan has an almost straight trachea, and results in a soft voice which does not carry much distance

Trumpeter Swans have an unmistakable resonant, loud, trumpet-like call.  

Mute Swans are generally silent but not "mute". They have an assortment of grunts, snorts, and quiet whistles.

Tundra Swans have a high-pitched, often quavering oo-OO-oo accentuated in the middle.

POSTURE: Trumpeters frequently have their neck kinked back at the base, forming an angular C-shape. The Tundra swan tends to hold it’s neck more vertically.  Mute Swans generally hold their necks curved gracefully and bills pointed somewhat downward. Wings may be arched over the back giving a bulky appearance.

Trumpeter Swans tend to bob their head and neck up and down. This, when accompanied with vocalizations is a form of communication between individuals within a group and is more pronounced when the birds are disturbed. It reaches maximum intensity just prior to the birds taking flight. This behavior may be brief or absent if the birds are suddenly startled and take flight. Tundra Swans do not bob their head and neck in this manner in such an exaggerated fashion, occasionally they will nod just their head up and down.