In the fall of 2006 shortly after we took possession of the property, there were 2 sets of 3 Trumpeter Swans seen on the property. The swans had been bred in captivity and released on the Rankin River in June 2005.

Listen to the story of the Trumpeter Swans that was broadcasted on Sunday March 10, 2019 on CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/sunday-edition/segment/15676531

This was the first sighting of Trumpeter Swans in this area and their arrival has been documented and details have been archived in the Bruce Country Museum in Southampton, ON.

Trumpeter swans were extirpated in Ontario and in the early 1980's, Harry Lumsden (OMNR research Biologist) spear-headed their re-introduction https://www.wyemarsh.com/swans

In the spring of 2007, 3 tagged Trumpeter swans were observed on our property. There were 2 females (#933 & #935) and one male, #934 (gender info provided by Mr Lumsden).
Trumpeter Swans #933 & #934 paired off and attempted to nest. It is believed that they were unsuccessful, although on 2 separate occasions we spoke to 2 people who stated they saw them with 2 "little grey swans".

In the spring of 2008 Trumpeter swans #933 & #934 returned but were not seen for a period of time.
On Sunday (June 1, 2008) the swans were spotted with their 5 cygnets and by August 1, 2008 there were 3 cygnets remaining. The story unfolds with the photos in each of the albums below.

In spring of 2009. Trumpeter swan #933 (female) arrived with an untagged swan. They had 6 cygnets and unfortunately lost 3. The 3rd swan lived to be a good size until it was hit by a car and left on the side of the road to die. A neighbour picked it up and arranged for it's wing to be pinned, but unfortunately the cygnet died.

In 2010 there was a pair of Trumpeter swans in the area but to our knowledge, their mating efforts were unsuccessful. The pair of Trumpeter Swans did not have wing tags.

In the early spring of 2011, we saw 3 pairs of Trumpeter Swans on the property.
Ice was still in the creek / marsh and there is a photo of 2 pairs claiming 'squatter's' rights. The story unfolds below. In late spring we observed a dead Trumpeter Swan on a tiny spit of land in the creek along the eastern side of our property. Its head was tucked under its wing.

2012:
There was a pair of untagged swans in the area that spent a good deal of time in the creek on our property. We had a severe drought but the creek had some deep water in the area where the creek crosses our laneway leading up to the house.
The Trumpeter Swans hatched 5 cygnets and by July 22, there was one cygnet left.
A photo of the leg band had the number 20933 on it. Personnel at Wye Marsh, confirmed that tag 20933 is the female that had the yellow wing tag #933 who paired with an untagged male in 2009. Wye Marsh has confirmed that female #933, hatched in 2003.

On 2 separate occasions, the adults were calling .... when we investigated we could not see the cygnet .....
It is not unusual to hear the swans calling and once we got down to the marsh, they stopped calling. The cygnet was not seen again.

In the fall of 2012, 4 new Trumpeter Swans were observed in the east side of the marsh. One had a wing tag .... J65. They stayed for a couple of weeks.

2013:
In the spring there were 7 Trumpeter swans at one time on the property and across the road. The days and nights were filled with Trumpeter swans calling and thrashing about. On several occasions the swans took flight. The 'lone' swan called and called and was last seen heading north along the creek.
On May 22, there were 2 adult swans and 5 cygnets in the east side of the marsh on our property. As of August 29, 2013 there were 2 cygnets remaining.

2014:
Coldest winter on record. Great Lakes entirely frozen. Cold wet spring, cool damp summer. A pair of Trumpeter Swans returned to the nesting area across the road. The pair and 5 cygnets were observed at the SE section of our property most of the spring & summer and hid from view more often than usual.

2015: Another very cold winter and cold spring. The pair of swans arrived and nested in the same area. The male no longer sported his metallic leg band, so there's no way of knowing if this is #20934. The bird was also found laying at the side of the road, unable to walk across the road. It had a permanent limp.

2016: After a mild winter they returned early and wasted no time. On April 15, the Trumpeter Swan was sitting on her nest. The male could not be located, but their nest was ~ 75m off the road when coordinates were obtained . They were further south and west compared to last year. Both were untagged. Remembering that 20934 has permanent injury on L foot, we are on the lookout for his return. We usually see cygnets by first week of June, this year the cygnets were seen on May 19, 2016.

2017: The pair returned and nested in their usual spot. However; this year they did not take their cygnets to the eastern edge of our property. Instead they hid in the SE area of our property and were not easily visible within the tall reeds and grasses. A neighbour reported seeing the pair with 2 full grown cygnets.

2018: There were 5 Trumpeter swans, 2 adults and 3 large cygnets seen in March. Apparently an adult swan had been killed and left at the side of the road in early spring. Neighbours stated that they did not see the birds nesting in their usual spot, nor did we see the adults and cygnets in the SE corner of our yard.
We heard the swans calling during the nights in the early spring. Chances are, the drought, low water level and loss of a mate contributed to the absence of a family in 2018. In the autumn there were 6 adult swans that had gathered on the western side of Cashore Creek.

We have stopped monitoring the trumpeter swans since their numbers have rebounded. View a recent interview regarding the current (2020) status of the swans at: https://vimeo.com/389574812?ref=fb-share&1&fbclid=IwAR3-0tq7ChqevI0PegrGRcm5uUrkmBG-PM0mbAvLjuBdsTsXvMiiXv2NIow
This summer the Canada Geese have been around and can be heard in the marsh. We're thinking that perhaps the Trumpeter swans have stopped nesting in the area because of the Snapping turtles.