All over the world bird migration signals a change in season. In Canada, the return of migrating birds is a very welcome sign of spring.
In Canada’s far north Yukon Territory, even though there’s still plenty of snow, the annual return of trumpeter swans is greeting with great enthusiasm.
The birds spend time in the Yukon on their way to their summer breeding grounds in Alaska.
It’s a welcome sign of spring, and the territory has created an annual festival around the spring migration called “A Celebration of Swans”. This year it ran from April 13-21.
Trumpeter swans are the largest waterfowl in North America at about 10kg with wingspans of 2-4 metres They live an average of 20 years and mate for life.
Once driven near the brink of extinction by overhunting at the turn of century, the Pacific coast population numbered about 5-thousand in 1980 but they now number about 26-thousand.
Bird watchers from all over come to see the birds every year at McLintock Bay on Marsh Lake in the Yukon. After wintering in lower British Columbia, Alberta, of in the US states of Wyoming, Idaho, or Montana most will stay about 1-2 weeks
Marsh Lake is ice free at this time of year and the birds stock up on the starchy roots of sedges as the birds carbo-load and fatten up for the remaining flight to Alaska.
Wildlife viewing biologist Carrie McClelland said the migration and arrival at Marsh Lake of the swans along with ducks and other birds, highlights the importance of wetland preservation.
“They have flown all the way up from Vancouver and other places and they are really tired and they need to refuel and they need to do that safely and there are only three or four locations where they can do that,” she said.
Yukon government site for Celebration of Swans
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