1st August 2020 - first year

It's been a year since I started this project on the 1st August 2019 and I'm pleased with the response and the results. I look forward to any and all observations from both the past and the present. I welcome any comments or questions on this project or Ontario Trumpeter Swans.

Some Background:
The applying of wing tags and leg bands to Trumpeter Swans in Ontario started back in the 1980's when Harry Lumsden initiated the re-introduction of Trumpeter Swans to Ontario. The wing tags are applied to both wings and are yellow with a black 3 digit number. In the beginning a 3 digit numeric number from 001 to 999 was used. Then an alpha numeric number was used consisting of single capital letter and 2 numbers. Each letter series consists of 100 tags starting with 00 to 99 ( e.g. A00 to A99 ). In total the program has tagged and banded 2,200 Swans. The bird is 'sexed' at the time of tagging and the band is applied to the right leg of males and left leg of females.

As a volunteer with Ontario Trumpeter Swans I maintain the database for it. To date we have 230,000 different observations for both tagged and untagged birds whose sightings have been observed at 3,530 different locations. The range of sightings of Ontario wing tagged Swans is - East, Green Bay Nova Scotia - West, Bloomington Minnesota - North, Attawapiskat river mouth on James Bay - South, Jonesborough Tennessee. This database has not been made available for public viewing.

The 1st Year Results:
The project has contributions from 180 iNaturalist members totalling 1,614 observations of 645 different wing tagged Trumpeter Swans.

The furthest east is Kingston, Ontario and furthest west is Battlecreek, Michigan - 730 Km. The most southerly is Waynesboro, Virginia and the most northerly is Moose Haven Lodge in Timiskaming, Ontario - 1,100 Km.

The list of tag numbers in the project is too big to include it or the frequency they have been observed.

Gary Lane

Posted on July 31, 2020 10:53 AM by broncolane