Nebraskaland

June 2020 • Nebraskaland 57 South Dakota, a short distance from the Nebraska border, north of Merriman. The swans flourished and soon found their way into the Sandhills. In 1964, the first cygnets hatched at Cody Lake near Cody. The Sandhills is a perfect area for trumpeter swans, as a number of its lakes, marshes and rivers have excellent water quality and are full of submerged vegetation, their primary food. From those first nesting birds, the population has fanned out across the Sandhills, with recent winter surveys counting about 1,000 birds. Even though their status has improved greatly over the years, they are still considered a Tier 2 species in the Nebraska Natural Legacy Plan. Tier 2 species are typically not at-risk from a global or national perspective, but are rare or imperiled within Nebraska. In the case of swans, their limited range puts them at risk. Restoration efforts in other parts of the United States and Canada have also been successful, with an estimated 70,000 swans now found throughout their range. The success can be seen in eastern Nebraska, where an increasing number of swans from restored populations in Iowa and Minnesota now winter. Swan Movements Lucky for us, trumpeters are docile when captured. In fact, they've proven to be the most docile waterfowl species we've ever had the pleasure to handle. If these birds reacted in similar fashion to the Canada geese we band, we would've needed a medic when capturing and handling them. Even so, when swans have lunged in an attempt to escape, the big claws on their huge feet have easily slashed holes in waders and hip boots. From 2014 to 2018, we captured 37 trumpeter swans in Cherry, Arthur, Grant and Sheridan counties. Each swan was fitted with a red neck collar with a unique code to identify the bird. Also attached to that neck collar was a solar-powered GPS transmitter that provided us with accurate locations of where and when this bird went for the next 2 to 3 years. Given the lack of roads in the Sandhills, the ability to track these birds without having to physically find them was critical. Additionally, we were not sure how far these birds would move once their breeding marshes froze over. The collared swans provided us with a few surprises. One bird spent part of a winter along the Kansas/ Oklahoma border southeast of Dodge City, Kansas. This area is not known as a mecca for wintering waterfowl. However, summer and fall rains provided plenty of water, and this male was thought to be a 2- to 3-year old adult that may have just wandered around for a while. A couple of swans also led us to wintering areas we were not aware of from our aerial surveys – one swan used the Platte River. The vast majority of marked birds stayed and wintered on the rivers and creeks in the Sandhills. None of our marked swans went farther east than Calamus Reservoir near Burwell, but that may be more of a reflection of where we captured the birds than their behavior. We also saw swans move to a wintering area, and then, during a warm spell, go back to their breeding marshes for a brief period. Once weather turned cold again and the lakes froze over, they returned to their wintering area. As we anticipated, most swans were faithful in returning to the same breeding and wintering areas each year. There were some departures, with some swans using different river systems during the same winter. While a few birds went south for the winter, most passed on that seasonal migration. Some actually traveled north, and some

• Cover