More swan migration photos at http://www.pbase.com/ccraft/swans/

The Trumpeter Swan migration on Vancouver Island is a sight to behold. Between February and March every year close to 2,000 swans migrate to the area around Courtenay and Comox -- a two and a half hour drive from Victoria. I spotted some trumpeter swans around Swan Lake, Victoria in January, 2005 but I was told by the people at the nature house there that they were en route and don't typically stay in the Victoria area. We drove around Courtenay looking for them and found the greatest numbers around the farm fields across from the estuary right in the centre of town.

If you don't want to drive all the way up to Courtenay, you can spot a gaggle of swans in farm fields along the highway in Duncan - a 45 minute drive from Victoria. You can't miss them. There's a farm right after the estuary where there are at least 100 trumpeter swans at any given time between January to March.

My boss told me he saw a group of swans hanging out along the Red Barn on East Saanich Road in Victoria in January, 2005.

A group of swans hang out at Royal Roads and you can get quite close to them. They like to hang out at the ocean beach in front of the castle and at the Japanese Gardens.

Share your tips and advice about finding swans along Vancouver Island and the lower Mainland here: