Outdoor Column

LAURA ROADY

Spring is in the air

Even though it is still technically winter, it feels like spring with the warm temperatures and mud everywhere. One of the events that I look forward to in late winter is the arrival of tundra swans. To me, they signal the beginning of spring migration. I saw the first flock the second week of February at Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge. 

Tundra swans stop in the Kootenai Valley for a few weeks to refuel for their trip north. Tundra swans will eat aquatic plants from open ponds and grains and corn from fields. Migration happens incrementally, as ponds become ice-free and the weather warms. Tundra swans don’t want to rush north to find all the ponds frozen, snow still on the ground and nothing to eat. Therefore, tundra swans will rest and eat along their migration route, typically in wetlands.

Tundra swans that migrate through the Kootenai Valley are migrating to Alaska. They are part of the western population that over-winters in parts of Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, southern Idaho, and eastern Nevada. They will fly along the Rocky Mountain Front into Alaska and will spend the summer west of Point Barrow along the coast down to the Aleutians and in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. While migrating, swans can fly around 50 mph, but may go as fast as 100 mph with a tailwind.

Trumpeter swans occasionally fly through the valley and look very similar to tundra swans from a distance. At least here, tundra swans are more common than trumpeter swans. However, there are a few distinguishing traits between the two. The main difference is the call. The call of a tundra swan is a high-pitched whooping or yodeling, whereas the trumpeter swan has a deep, loud trumpet-like call.

Trumpeter swans are typically larger than tundra swans, which are slightly larger than Canada geese. Adult trumpeter swans have a wingspan of 7-8 feet and a height of 4 feet, roughly twice the size of a tundra swan. The bill shape is also an identifying trait. The trumpeter swan has a long, wedge-shaped bill extending from its angular head compared to the small, dish-shaped bill on the smooth, rounded head of the tundra swan.

 Additionally from a head-on view, the tundra swan has a gentle curve where the forehead meets the bill, whereas the trumpeter swan has a V-shaped junction. The tundra swan also has a yellow spot in front of the eye.

Tundra swans are magnificent birds to watch and usually frequent the refuge, Ball Creek Ranch Preserve and Boundary Creek Wildlife Management Area. As winter progresses and spring arrives, more birds will be migrating through and even more will be coming to spend the summer. Around mid-March the peak of mallard and pintail migration occurs at the refuge. Our seasonal songbirds will be arriving also, with at least one robin already here. Spring is definitely in the air.

Laura Roady is owner of Roady Outdoor Photography and is a freelance photographer and writer. She can be reached at 267-5397 or at roadyphoto@gmail.com.