The Swan Mystery Cache

Swans are large water birds that belong to the same family of waterfowl as ducks and geese. Swans are larger than geese and ducks, and they are easily recognized by their very long necks. Some swans arch their necks in a graceful curve, while others carry their necks upright. Most swans have pure white feathers, but two species that live in the southern hemisphere are completely or partially black. Male and female adult swans look alike. The male swan is called a cob, the female is a pen, and baby swans are cygnets.

The largest type of swan in the world is the trumpeter swan, which is common to North America and can weigh as much as 35 pounds with a wingspan of up to 8 feet. Historically, trumpeter swans were most likely abundant throughout the Great Lakes region, even in the southern Michigan marshlands. On his travels along the Detroit River in 1701, Cadillac compared the abundance of swans to lilies among the rushes. However, with the settlement of America, the populations of trumpeters plummeted. Beginning in the late 1800s, European settlers cleared the land, draining and filling important marsh habitat, and market hunters took swans for their fine down and quills. By 1933, only 66 trumpeter swans remained in the continental United States, mainly in remote parts of the Rocky Mountains and Alaska. Nearly 100 years passed before trumpeter swans were seen again in the Michigan wilds.

Today, three species of swans can be found in Michigan. The trumpeter is the largest and has an all-black bill. The other resident swan, the mute swan, is a European import. The easiest way to distinguish the mute swan is by its orange bill. They also often have a bulbous knot at the top of their bill. The third species, the tundra swan, passes through our state on their migration routes. Shortly after ice thaws, hundreds to sometimes thousands of tundra swans can be seen resting in Great Lakes marshes. Two of the best sites to see this migration spectacle are the Saginaw Bay area and Maple River Management Unit in south central Michigan.

Swans spend much of their time swimming in ponds, lakes, coastal bays, and rivers. Although they fly well, they need a large stretch of water for takeoff. To become airborne, swans patter along the top of the water, flapping their wings, until they gain sufficient speed for takeoff. Most swans are migratory; in North America, flying from breeding grounds in the north to wintering grounds farther south. Swans that live year-round in the southern United States do not migrate.

Swans usually form pairs for life, although in some species swans are known to change mates occasionally, especially if the pairs fail to breed. Swans choose mates when they are two or three years old, although they usually do not breed until they are at least four. Breeding pairs build nests of grasses, rushes, and reeds, usually near water and sometimes on the top of muskrat lodges. The female usually lays four to six eggs, sometimes more. She incubates them until they hatch about 35 days later. The male guards the nest from predators and may take over incubation so that the female can feed.

Both parents tend the cygnets, which are sometimes seen riding on the back of a swimming parent. The cygnets learn to fly after a few months, but they usually stay with their parents through the winter. Young swans are pale gray or grayish-brown in color and do not grow their white feathers until the next summer. Swans may live as long as 35 years.