Trumpeter and Tundra Swans - Photo: John Gussman
“Swan Use of Lower Dungeness Habitats: The OPAS Swan Study”
Presented by Laura Davis
Wednesday November 16, 2022, 7:00 p.m.
Dungeness River Nature Center, Rainshadow Hall
Free to attend.
Trumpeter Swans overwinter in the Dungeness agricultural landscape every year. While local swan numbers are not as high as counties east of the Salish Sea, the OPAS swan team's data offer a high level of detail and consistency. Over 11 years of swan surveys, the team has extended the scope of this study beyond daytime counts of foraging swans to their use of habitats, including for nighttime roosting. Laura will describe these data, illustrate the changes in population and habitats used by the swans across the season and from year to year, and provide insights into the winter sustenance and refuge these birds find here.
Laura Davis is a landscape architect with special focus on the enhancement of ecosystem services in our human landscapes. Laura has been co-leading the OPAS Swan Study program with Liam Antrim since October 2018. Both Laura and Liam bring complementary interests in the conservation of habitat and rural landscape to their leadership approach and study questions.
[Swan team leads pictured on the right: Laura Davis and Liam Antrim]
Swans find sustenance in a Schmuck Road corn field, post-harvest. Photo: John Gussman