Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)


Group	Swans, Geese, and Ducks
Code	ABNJB02030
Order	Anseriformes
Family	Anatidae
Author	Richardson, 1831
Rank	G4 (definitions)
Occurrence	SM (definitions)
Scale	C (definitions)

County List:


Western UP	none
Eastern UP	Schoolcraft
Northern LP	none
Southern LP	none

Rule:

Mixed Forested/Nonforested or Nonforested Landscapes

Nesting and Brood Rearing Habitats are Adjacent to each other and Migrating Habitat Requirements may be distributed over the NEIGHBORHOOD

Nesting Habitat:
      (Lake or Pond or River)
   adjacent to:
      Marsh 2

Brood Rearing Habitat:
      (Lake or Pond or River)
   adjacent to:
      Any Emergent Wetland  

Migrating Habitat:
      (Lake or Pond or River)
   adjacent to:
      Any Emergent Wetland
   neighboring: 
      (Sedge Meadow or Small Grains/Forage Crops or Fields/Pastures)

view decision rule term definitions

Habitat List:

Habitats	Regen	Sap	Pole	Sm Saw	Lg Saw	Uneven
Aspen	no	no	no	no	no	-
Paper Birch	no	no	no	no	no	-
Oak	no	no	no	no	no	no
Assorted Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Spruce/Fir	no	no	no	no	no	no
Hemlock	no	no	no	no	no	no
Jack Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Red Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
White Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Conifer Plantations	no	no	no	no	no	-
Mixed Upland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Upland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Swamp Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Balsam Poplar & Swamp Aspen & Swamp Birch	no	no	no	no	no	no
Bottomland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Tamarack	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern White Cedar	no	no	no	no	no	no
Black Spruce	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Non-Forested	Small Grains/Forage Crops, Fields/Pastures, Lake, Pond, River, Marsh 1, Marsh 2 (MARSH), Sedge Meadow
Special Features	none

view size class definitions

Literature:

Bellrose, F. C. 1976. Ducks, Geese, and Swans of North America. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA. 540 pp.

Territories varied in size from 70 to 150 acres according to the irregularity of the shoreline. The greater the interspersion of marsh and open water, the smaller the territory.

Trumpeter Swans build their nests in extensive beds of marsh vegetation: sedges, bulrushes, cattails, and juncus in Montana and horsetail and sedges in Alaska. The nests are placed in water 1 to 3 feet deep.

During the first days of their lives, cygnets feed in shallow water along the margins of emergent vegetation, where they probe for aquatic insects, crustacea, and some aquatic plants. When they are a few weeks old their diet changes to include more aquatic vegetation. The meager information available on the diet of Trumpeter Swans indicates that a variety of marsh and aquatic plants compose the bulk of the food consumed.

Kaufman, K. 1996. Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 675 pp.

Habitat: Lakes, ponds, large rivers; in winter also bays. Favors large but shallow freshwater ponds, or wide, slow-flowing rivers, with lots of vegetation. Most of current range is in forested regions, but at one time was also common on northern prairies.

Diet: Mostly plant material. Adults eat mainly stems, leaves, and roots of aquatic plants, including pondweed, sedges, rushes, arrowleaf, wild celery, bulrush, burreed, and many others. May eat terrestrial grasses and waste crops in winter. Young eat many insects and other small invertebrates, mainly during first 2 weeks after hatching.

Nest: Site is surrounded by water, as on small island, beaver or muskrat house, floating platform. Nest is a low mound of plant material several feet in diameter, with a depressed bowl in the center.