An Exciting Ottawa Lister
November 10th, 2016
I was thrilled this week to stumble upon a pair of Trumpeter Swans--a new species for my Ottawa list, and only my third sighting of it ever.
Trumpeter Swans are the largest waterfowl in North America. They are one of our two species of native swans. (Nota bene, the swans frequently seen on the Rideau River in summer are not native and not countable for birders, though they are beautiful!) Trumpeters were driven to the brink of extinction once, primarily by market hunting, but recovery efforts have restored their population to the tens of thousands, with over a thousand in Ontario alone. Numbers continue to rebound, and in the past few years there has been a breeding pair reported on the Jock River. We can well hope to see more of them here in Ottawa in the years to come!
They are nonetheless still a vulnerable species. They need pristine wetlands and a minimum of human disturbance during nesting time. Hunting them is, thankfully, not legal in Ontario, but it only takes a few unethical hunters to do harm. Here's hoping that this pair remains as healthy and unharassed as I found them.
November 10th, 2016
I was thrilled this week to stumble upon a pair of Trumpeter Swans--a new species for my Ottawa list, and only my third sighting of it ever.
Trumpeter Swans are the largest waterfowl in North America. They are one of our two species of native swans. (Nota bene, the swans frequently seen on the Rideau River in summer are not native and not countable for birders, though they are beautiful!) Trumpeters were driven to the brink of extinction once, primarily by market hunting, but recovery efforts have restored their population to the tens of thousands, with over a thousand in Ontario alone. Numbers continue to rebound, and in the past few years there has been a breeding pair reported on the Jock River. We can well hope to see more of them here in Ottawa in the years to come!
They are nonetheless still a vulnerable species. They need pristine wetlands and a minimum of human disturbance during nesting time. Hunting them is, thankfully, not legal in Ontario, but it only takes a few unethical hunters to do harm. Here's hoping that this pair remains as healthy and unharassed as I found them.
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dagibbs
November 10th, 2016 at 9:19 pm
Cool!
Mike
November 12th, 2016 at 12:44 pm
Glad to see they're multiplying and spreading!