During the summer months, Trumpeter Swans in the Blackfoot were pretty stationary. Newly released young swans have had the feathers on their wings clipped, so that they stay near their release point for a couple of months after release. This increases the chances that they will become attached to the area and return the following years, eventually establishing a territory and breeding. They molt and grow new feathers over the summer, so they are able to start flying in late summer. Like most waterfowl, adult swans that have returned to the Blackfoot lose the ability to fly for a few weeks when they molt in mid-summer. A pair of swans will generally return to the wetland where they molted to breed in future years.
So during the middle of the summer the Blackfoot swans were pretty easy to keep track of. Occasionally some of them would take a “walkabout” to a nearby wetland, which could be a potentially dangerous journey exposing them to predators. But this year all the young swans stayed close to their new homes and survived any short terrestrial journeys they did make. On my summer rounds to check on them, I was always relieved when I found them safe and sound where I had last seen them!
Now, however, they have all learned to fly and most of the 15 young birds released this spring have moved off their release sites. Tracking them down can be both fun and challenging. Some days I am able to find many of them simply by driving to some local lakes and wetlands, but lately I’ve been spending more time hiking around to look for them. After checking on a map or Google Earth for wetlands tucked away in the valley, I head out across the prairie or through the woods. It’s always a thrill to tromp through the sagebrush and bunchgrass and come over a hill to see swans in a pond below me. I quickly set up my spotting scope and read the codes on their red collars. While they usually see me and watch alertly, I stay far enough away so that they don’t try to fly off. Often they will resume feeding or preening after a few minutes of watching me, apparently deciding I’m not too dangerous. They must recognize me after seeing me every week, even though I don’t wear a large identifying collar!
How many swans can you find in the above photo? (Hint: check out the closeup view through the spotting scope in the photo below. Count necks, not bodies!) There are 3 swans on the left side of the photo above and 3 on the right.
The young swans and most of the adults that have returned are flying around, but there are 11 swans in the valley that haven’t flown since June; these are the two families with cygnets. Although these 3-month-old babies are now large and fully feathered, they haven’t quite taken to the air yet. They are spending quite a bit of time flapping their wings, strengthening their flight muscles. One day soon, the bravest or strongest will launch itself off the water and into the air for the first time. And just a few weeks later, they will head south with their parents.