Originally native to Ontario, the Trumpeter swan’s extirpation from eastern Canada over 200 years ago was primarily due to hunting pressure and habitat loss.
Biologist Harry Lumsden began a provincial reintroduction program in the early 1980’s to re-establish the Trumpeter swan in its former habitat and range.
These swans are well monitored and almost every one has a yellow identification number:
I have led walks on the Orchard (and other) Trails at Rouge Park many times. It has an ideal variety of stream, pond, forest, cliff and field.
Some botany:
NATURE POETRY
But now they drift on the still water,
Mysterious, beautiful;
Among what rushes will they build,
By what lake’s edge or pool
Delight men’s eyes when I awake some day
To find they have flown away? – William Butler Yeats
Miles Hearn
Thx for the info about trumpeter swans. I saw three in the pond at Centennial Park in Etobicoke early this spring. It’s my first sighting if them in the 20 years I’ve been going to the park. I reported the sighting on the website set up to keep track of them.
Ah, the beloved Rouge–it’s so good to see it! And I love those Trumpeter Swans–they are so musical! The botanical detail is beautiful too. Thanks, Miles!