Minn. trumpeter swan population keeps growing

Published 8:03 am Friday, January 21, 2011

ST. PAUL — A statewide aerial survey finds Minnesota’s trumpeter swan population more than doubled in the last five years.

The survey was conducted Jan. 5-8. It found more than 5,300 trumpeter swans in 14 Minnesota counties. But the actual number of trumpeter swans in Minnesota last September is estimated at 5,500. That’s because some Minnesota swans now nesting in western Ontario migrate back to Minnesota for the winter and are counted in the survey.

The survey is conducted every five years. In 2005 the population estimate was more than 2,000 trumpeters.

The Three Rivers Park District coordinated the survey in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Nongame Wildlife Program and The Trumpeter Swan Society.

Trumpeter swans were once hunted to extinction in Minnesota but have been restored to the state.