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"TR"
the Tundra Swan with transmitter
during release at Eastern
Neck NWR, Kent County, Maryland.
(NWR photo) |
Latest
swan update
W
hen a young tundra swan fell into
an oil impoundment at Prudhoe Bay,
Alaska, on September 13, 2003, it
could have very well been the end
of its short life. Fortunately,
it was rescued and taken to International
Bird Rescue Research Center
in Anchorage, where it received
expert care by the same people who
had washed birds oiled in the Valdez
disaster.
The good news was that
the swan survived; the bad news
was her family had already begun
their migration to the Atlantic
coast. Without parents to show the
way there, and back, it would probably
never leave Alaska — and winter
was coming.
But what if it was
able to get to the East Coast some
other way? Would it join the other
tundra swans and fly back to Alaska
with them?
Follow the story of
"TR" as it travels via
commercial airline from Alaska to
Tri-State
Bird Rescue in Delaware, and
then on to Eastern
Neck National Wildlife Refuge
in Maryland.
Story by Meg Walkup,
Eastern Neck National
Wildlife Refuge, Maryland.
September 13, 2003:
A juvenile tundra swan
is rescued after it falls into an
oil pit at Prudhoe Bay. With 50%
of its body covered in oil, the
swan is rushed to the International
Bird Rescue & Research Center
(IBRRC) in Anchorage for treatment.
The cygnet recovers but, by the
time it's ready for release, the
family group has already left Alaska
on their migration to the Atlantic
Coast.
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| Tundra
Swan feeding during rehab
at Alaska Bird Center. (Barbara
Callahan/IBRRC photo) |
September 29, 2003:
In an effort to reunite
the cygnet with its flock, IBRRC
staff transfer the swan - - via
Northwest Airlines - - to Tri-State
Bird Rescue in Delaware. Arriving
well ahead of the migratory flocks,
the cygnet waits at Tri-State for
the tundra swans to show up at Eastern
Neck National Wildlife Refuge (NWR),
their major staging site in the
Chesapeake Bay area of the eastern
flyway.
Tundra Swan facts:
Adult tundra swans have a wing
span of 72-88 inches, and total
length of
48-55 inches. Average adult
weight ranges from 10 to 22
pounds.
Maximum
migration distance is 4,200
miles; normal altitude ranges
from 2,000 -
4,500 feet (maximum altitude
is 10,000 feet); and maximum
sustained flight
speed is 51 mph.
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December 3, 2003:
Named for the president who founded
the National Wildlife Refuge System
100 years ago, "TR" is
brought to Eastern Neck to be released
(and is then found to be a female
swan, not a male). Although the
cygnet has been around humans more
than swans and has rarely flown,
TR heads straight to the migratory
flocks - - and to the front pages
of the BALTIMORE SUN and other news
media. To document the survival
of an oiled bird and determine the
migratory movements of a hatching-year
swan that didn't travel with its
family, a satellite transmitter
is attached to TR. Every 4 days
for the next 18 months, the swan's
location coordinates will be received
and relayed by Argos, a satellite
company serving environmental applications
worldwide.
December 28, 2003:
The swan stays at Eastern Neck NWR
for several weeks, exploring the
area in ever-increasing ranges.
Then the satellite data indicate
that TR's headed east for Delaware's
coastline, where she stays for another
week.
January 6, 2004:
What a difference a day can make:
Hourly readings document the swan's
flight from below Salisbury MD,
across the Chesapeake Bay, beyond
Gloucester and then Norfolk VA,
and finally to eastern North Carolina!
Today, TR has successfully migrated
to the winter destination of nearly
90,000 tundra swans - - and possibly
the site of an amazing reunion of
this cygnet and her family.
February, 2004:
TR continues to over-winter with
the other tundra swans in NC, right
where she would have been without
her September 13 mishap - - but
not without her dedicated rescuers
and rehabilitators. She enjoys the
marshes near Mattamuskeet NWR but
also ranges throughout the Pamlico
Sound, and occasionally visits the
Outer Banks.
March 14, 2004:
On the 101st anniversary of the
National Wildlife Refuge System,
our Centennial year swan begins
her spring migration! The morning
satellite reading shows her still
in North Carolina, then there is
a sequence of lost data, followed
by one final coordinate that shows
TR -- over Virginia!
March 18, 2004:
The swan has successfully
migrated to southern Ontario, near
Bird Studies-Canada's Long Point
Bird Observatory on Lake Erie -
- a major staging area of tundra
swans during both fall and spring
migrations. Whether TR returned
to Eastern Neck NWR during this
spring migration is unknown, since
the satellite data set is transmitted
only every four days and she covered
a lot of distance between 3/14 (Virginia)
and 3/18 (Canada). But we're looking
forward to the possibility of seeing
her at the refuge again next fall.
Meanwhile, it's great news to know
that this young swan is heading
back to the Arctic tundra where
she belongs. But she still has miles
to go.
March 22, 2004:
The swan cygnet is still near Lake
Erie, where hopefully she’s
getting some rest and nourishment
before resuming her arduous journey
north. Dr. Scott Petrie, Research
Director of Long Point Waterfowl
and Wetlands Research Fund, reports:
"We have ~10,000 tundra Swans
at Long Point. Apparently there
are also about 6,000 at the Aylmer
Wildlife Area ~50 km NW of Long
Point. Migration within southern
Ontario (in and out) is certainly
in full swing. Shannon Badzinski
thinks he may have seen your marked
bird (white collar with antennae)
at Long Point (on Big Creek) a few
days ago."
For more information: Long
Point
March 31, 2004:
Today’s satellite coordinates
first showed the swan mid-Michigan;
four hours later, she was almost
across Lake Michigan and approaching
Wisconsin. Each of the coordinates
was different, indicating that TR
spent those hours flying. It was
only the longitudes that changed,
however; the latitudes varied by
just a degree or so -- in other
words, she's holding a steady course
along the tundra swans' traditional
flyway. During the 4 hours covered
by the satellite relay, TR traveled
approximately 380 miles at an average
speed of 80 mph. Green Bay is a
favorite stop-over for migratory
tundra swans in Wisconsin. But TR
and her group may choose to keep
going while the winds are so favorable.
April 4, 2004:
When the satellite last
"saw" our swan cygnet,
she was crossing Minnesota during
the early morning hours of April
4 and arriving east of Bismarck,
North Dakota by 9 a.m. Again, the
longitudes steadily increased, indicating
that TR is still on the move. (
Studies have suggested that migrating
birds follow a "magnetic highway"
- - but this one seems to be using
I-94!). Receiving satellite data
only every four days, we don’t
know if the swan and her flock stopped
at Green Bay or somewhere else since
the Lake Michigan sighting on 3/31/04.
Now that TR has reached the Dakotas,
she'll be heading north
April 8, 2004
Satellite coordinates
show that TR is in western Minnesota.
Yes, that's east of Bismarck, not
north. But what looks like back-tracking
is actually the movement of this
young swan through another major
staging area, the Red River valley.
Since the coordinates are sent every
four days, we couldn't know whether
the swans had already staged and
left this site when TR's April 4
transmissions showed her enroute
to Bismarck. But apparently TR was
just venturing west while she and
her flock were still based at the
Prairie Pothole Region along the
Minnesota--North Dakota border.
Here, rich wetlands are offering
the migratory swans a diet of high-energy
vegetation and high-protein invertebrates
before they shift their migration
north. The previous satellite readings
showed TR on the move but yesterday's
coordinates are all similar, so
this young swan is getting some
rest on her first long journey.
The Bismark Tribune
gave TR a great welcome after the
last coordinates showed the swan
heading their way. I hope their
readers will either keep their eyes
on the skies, or take Interstate
94 -- the route TR was following
last weekend to visit them --- and
travel east to visit TR. Here's
the map
April 12, 2004
The swan cygnet is still based in the Red River valley area of
Minnesota/North Dakota, but back on the North Dakota side of the border, not far from
Fargo. Tundra swans leave the wintering grounds at their lowest body weights, so
acquiring fat reserves at spring staging areas such as the Red River valley is crucial to
their survival not only during the weeks of migration and also during the first few weeks
after their arrival at the Arctic tundra. Continued "R&R" at this vital wetland is giving
TR and her associated flocks a great opportunity to prepare for the next phase of their
migration -- the journey north into Canada!
April 21, 2004
The swan's location has hardly changed the last 10 days. But satellite
readings from the transmitter's activity level sensor show plenty of
movement, indicating that she is still alive and hasn't slipped her collar.
So TR is just enjoying North Dakota's hospitality while she waits for
warmer weather, and the wind.
Connie Norheim, a member of the Audubon Society of Fargo, ND, sent the
following report today, 4/22: "The coordinates look like she's at Brewer
Lake, by Erie, several miles to the west. A friend says a flock of 200-300
swans has been near her home for the last 2 to 3 weeks. Further north,
it's still pretty cold, and it's not surprising that they're holing up here
for awhile. It got below freezing in Fargo last night."
Brad Bortner, Chief of the Fish & Wildlife Service's Division of Migratory
Birds & Habitat Programs (Pacific Region), confirmed weather conditions and
food availability as reasons this young swan and her flock are dawdling in
Dakota: "They'll follow their stomachs and the frostline," Brad says.
"There isn't a lot of food at the tundra when they first arrive, so they're
building up fat resources."
Dr. Matt Perry, research
biologist at the U.S. Geological
Service's Patuxent Wildlife Research
Center (Laurel, MD), reminds us
that "age may be a factor in migration
timing. Sexually immature swans
may be a little slower." Mature
swans try to reach the tundra as
early as weather permits, to ensure
a successful breeding season during
its short summer; this cygnet won't
mate for several years yet.
June 2, 2004
The Argos satellite
was unable to detect any signal
from the swan's
transmitter. Several times this
spring the transmitter relayed data
with missing coordinates, but this
is different: Now, all communication
has been lost. An Argos technician
checks the satellite logs, and says
that if there is still no transmission
on the next four-day cycle, then
it means that the transmitter has
failed. If so, we will have no further
telemetry data on TR's future locations.
June 8, 2004
After two cycles of
lost communications with TR, the
satellite suddenly received clear
readings from the swan's transmitter
today. During the ten days since
the last transmission, TR has traveled
over 500 miles, due north, and is
now in northern Manitoba. Since
TR is somewhat past the point where
the Alaskan swans normally shift
their direction northwest, her adopted
flock may be Canadians heading for
the Hudson. The next transmission
should provide the answer.
November 15, 2004
Between 11/11
and 11/15, TR and her flock flew
from Minnesota - - to North Carolina!
How did they get to their winter
destination so quickly? A refuge
volunteer (who's also a pilot) explained
that a strong and steady air current
was produced along the edge of a
high pressure area stalling over
Ohio. These winds swept clockwise
from Minnesota, through the Great
Lakes, past the Chesapeake Bay,
and into eastern North Carolina.
As much as everyone hoped that TR
and her flock would stage at Eastern
Neck NWR this fall, it's great that
they could take advantage of such
a helpful tailwind that enabled
TR to fly over 1500 miles in four
days and arrive safely at her wintering
grounds this year.
Latest location map
Also see:
Baltimore
Sun story on TR (pdf 100 kb)
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