Trumpeter Swans flying over power lines. Photo: Bob Phreaner
Swan Study History and Background
During the winter of 2010/2011, five Trumpeter Swans were found dead in the Sequim area. Necropsies of the birds attributed their death to lead poisoning, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the swans ingested the lead in our area. It takes up to three weeks for a swan to die from lead poisoning, so they could have picked it up elsewhere before flying to this area.
When surveyors immediately report an injured, sick, or dead swan, Washington Department Fish and Wildlife can collect and remove the swan to determine the cause of the injury, sickness, or death. In the case of lead-poisoning, it is important to remove the swan as soon as possible so raptors and animals do not die of poisoning from feeding on the carcass. No lead poisoning deaths have been recorded in Sequim since the winter of 2010/2011.
Power lines are a significant cause of mortality for Trumpeter Swans, heavy-bodied birds that need plenty of room for takeoff and landing. The use of power line bird diverters by Clallam County PUD has mitigated the issue in most cases.
Trumpeter Swans flying over power lines (note the diverter). Photo: Bob Phreaner
Trumpeters have been known to visit Sequim since four were reported during the 1982 OPAS Christmas Bird Count. Their numbers remained in the single digits (two years reported zero) with the exception of 1986 (21), 1994 (10), and 1999 (25). By 2005, their numbers stayed in the double digits until 2011 when their numbers jumped to triple digits where they remained through the 2019/2020 season.
An all-time high of 258 Trumpeter Swans was recorded by our swan study volunteers on February 23, 2017.