Trumpeter Swans Released

Eleven captive-reared young trumpeter swans have been released at Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas as part of an effort to establish a migrating population. The young swans are expected to head north this spring.

Scientists are using reverse migration imprinting to introduce young birds that have never migrated into the state and let them use their instincts to return to Iowa. Birds produced in the wild have the benefit of families that stick together through the winter, and the adults lead the way south. Scientists hope the birds released this year will migrate back to Holla Bend Refuge in the fall.

In January 2008, 13 trumpeter swans were released; they migrated north in April 2008 and eight returned to the refuge in November 2008. During the winter, several trumpeter swans without collars and two tundra swans joined the group. The majestic white swan, a common migrant to Arkansas 100 years ago, has an eight-foot wingspan and weighs up to 35 pounds. The joint experiment involves Iowa's Department of Natural Resources, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, The Trumpeter Swan Society and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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