Trumpeter Swan - Photo: Dee Renee Ericks

2019–2020 Season Summary

by Laura Davis and Liam Antrim

The agricultural landscapes, man-made ponds and sloughs in Sequim/Dungeness area provide a more complex and variable overwintering habitat than other areas in western Washington used by Trumpeter Swans. While eastern Clallam County has very little of the freshwater wetland habitat that swans prefer, forage opportunity on the area's fertile soils draw Trumpeter Swans to overwinter here. As open spaces, wetland habitats and crop resources are ever in flux, so is the winter distribution of swans.

*Trumpeter Swan - Photo: Dee Renee Ericks*

OPAS has conducted a winter swan survey here on the Sequim/Dungeness delta since the 2011/2012 season. We partner with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Northwest Swan Conservation Association to provide data to the state Priority Habitat and Species database and to help monitor for hazard issues.

The cycles of Pacific Coast swan population and migrations vary each winter around the Salish Sea. From November through March, our OPAS volunteers track the specific locations, forage preferences, and both the day and nighttime habitats the swans use in eastern Clallam County. Our survey high count of 189 Trumpeter Swans this past winter occurred in February 2020, which is when we typically see additional swans stopping here on their northward migration. Since our surveys started in 2011 our high counts have ranged between 99 Trumpeters in 2014–2015 and 258 in 2016–2017, with peaks and lows similar to counts elsewhere around the Salish Sea.

*Trumpeter Swan Juvenile preening - Photo: Dee Renee Ericks*

This winter, the swans foraged more on harvested corn fields than any other food source. Some of these fields were overplanted with winter grains. Cover crops like winter wheat, annual rye and vetch enrich the fallow fields and protect the soils from erosion. Where we might see the stubble of a harvested corn field, the swans find nourishment in both the remnant corn grains and grass-like plants. Each season is different; just three years ago, we saw up to 200 swans foraging at a time on a field of remnant carrots.

*Trumpeter Swan in carrot field - Photo: Dee Renee Ericks*

Although the regular, weekly counts of swans during daytime foraging form the core of our citizen-science efforts, we also conduct nighttime roosting surveys. We especially appreciate our enthusiastic volunteers who are willing to bundle up and watch at sunrise and sunset for swans flying between their foraging and roosting sites. Observing the swans at the transition of day and night reveals additional patterns of swan usage, increases our understanding of the rural landscape's value for roosting, and helps us identify powerlines and other hazards in the context of wind, fog and nighttime flight. Watching the swans take to the air gives one huge appreciation for the large “runway” of space needed by a 20-pound swan to get aloft.

*Swans roosting on pond - Photo: Bob Phreaner*

We know what attracts many of us to live in this special place – these landscapes we call home. The “rain shadow” of the Olympic Mountains has drawn more and more human residents here. Although eastern Clallam County has limited wetland habitat, the cultivated and irrigated floodplain landscapes help support the swans and other adaptive species that might not otherwise have visited. Our thanks to the farmers and landowners who share the landscape with this large migratory bird species, as well as our OPAS volunteers. We rely on a dedicated and seasoned team of about 24 volunteers as our survey team, and are happy to include interested neighbors and photographers to help supplement our understanding of this majestic species.