The largest of North American waterfowl, the Trumpeter Swan is resident throughout much of its range, but migratory in other parts. It breeds in Alaska, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Alberta to southern Ontario, and south to Oregon, Nevada, Nebraska, and the Great Lakes region. The Swans winter in southeastern Alaska, western British Columbia, and the northwestern U.S.

The Trumpeter Swan was hunted for its feathers throughout the 1600s - 1800s, causing a tremendous decline in its numbers. Its largest flight feathers made what were considered to be the best quality quill pens.

By 1900, it was widely believed that the species had been hunted to extinction for its feathers, skin, meat and eggs. Fortunately, a small non-migratory population survived in the remote mountain valleys of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

In 1933 it was documented that there were only 77 Trumpeter Swans breeding in Canada and 50 breeding in the United States. In the early 1950s, a large population of these birds was found in Alaska.

At present, biologists recognize three populations of Trumpeter Swans: the Pacific Coast Population, the Rocky Mountain Population, and the Interior Population. Two of these populations developed primarily from remnant flocks that survived the historic decline. The third consists of flocks that have been created by transplanting wild birds from established flocks into promising habitat and by breeding swans in captivity and releasing the young to the wild.

Today, as a result of an intensive international conservation effort, there are about 16,000 wild Trumpeter Swans, and the species is no longer considered in danger of extinction. - Hinterland Who's Who, WhatBird.com and All About Birds

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