Recovery has been the work of conservation organizations, tribes, and county officials, all of whom have supported action and programs that support the natural diversity of this region.
With the fall of each year, the Salish Sea region is witness to the arrival of the great migrations of waterfowl, shorebirds and raptors that move through this region or remain through the winter.
One wintering species in particular, the trumpeter swan, is a stark and glowing presence when feeding as a flock or family group on the dark bottom lands or flying overhead in formation. Reaching weights of about 30 pounds and aloft on wings that may span over eight or more feet, they are hard to miss.
Mating for life, a pair makes an annual trip to the Salish Sea from the edges of the Arctic Circle where they breed. By late winter the birds are restless and will be abandoning these lands to move northward to raise families. For a species that may live for decades, one can only imagine the number of miles logged over this time. Safety and the assurance of sustenance here are key to their fitness in sustaining their numbers.
The presence of trumpeters, along with the smaller tundra swan, is a story of recovery. Fifty years ago swans were rarely seen, if at all. Today they number in the thousands. The story of their recovery is clear and encouraging as it demonstrates how we have incorporated strategies and policies to sustain our natural heritage
More informed policies regarding their hunting have been important and they are now protected. At the same time, the fees for hunting licenses and duck stamps when hunting other waterfowl are directed in part to securing and protecting their critical habitat. The ban on the use of lead shot has certainly benefited these birds that would ingest such poison when feeding for roots and tubers in the mud. The agriculture community has worked successfully on behalf of these birds to keep open fields where the swans can feed on what remains of crops after harvest.
In all this encouraging news of recovery has been the work of conservation organizations, tribes, and county officials, all of whom have supported action and programs that support the natural diversity of this region. It has not been an overnight success but has required decades and even generations to make this recovery possible.
I will always remember talking with a farmer who had spent a lifetime bringing forth extraordinary food crops from the rich earth of the river deltas here. He was determined that his legacy would include a giving back to his community some of the joy and rewards of sharing his time in company with the swans and other wintering species that would reside in his company. His lands and adjoining waterways became part of a conservation refuge for waterfowl.
The recovery continues.
— By Tony Angell
Also read in Salish Current:
• “Ascending Eagles and River Otters near Diablo Lake,” Aug. 13, 2025
• “‘The First Warm Day of Spring’,” April 1, 2024
• “The barn owl: a good neighbor,” Dec. 7, 2023
• “‘Spring Fields’,” April 7, 2023
• “‘Rise Above 2020’,” Jan. 19, 2023