Habitat and Range
During the breeding season, trumpeter swans select small ponds and lakes or bays on larger water bodies with extensive beds of cattails, bulrush, sedges, and/or horsetail. Ideal habitat includes about 328 ft. of open water for take-off, stable levels of unpolluted, fresh water, emergent vegetation, low levels of human disturbance, and the presence of muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) houses and American beaver (Castor canadensis) lodges for use as nesting platforms.
History
The trumpeter swan was a widespread and relatively common breeder throughout the prairies and parkland regions of Minnesota until the mid-1800s. As central and western Minnesota were settled, this large, conspicuous bird quickly became over-hunted. When the first official species status review by the state was conducted in 1984, the last record of a wild breeding population in Minnesota was found to be from about 1885. As a result, the trumpeter swan was considered extirpated in the state.
Subsequent recovery efforts have resulted in more than 2,400 free-flying birds in Minnesota. The species' breeding range is now expanding to the north and east, with trumpeter swans released in Minnesota documented in southwestern Ontario, and trumpeter swans released in Iowa nesting in Minnesota.
The Cache
The cache is a plastic beach tube. Initial contents include a log, pencil with an add-on eraser, a sharpener and one handmade polymer-clay gummybear.
In winter, the trail is used extensively by snowmobilers. Be watchful for snowmobile (snow machine) traffic as it can exceed 60 mph.
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