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Mar 23, 2020

The Trumpeter comeback story continues...

                                                                                                      Photo by Barry Wallace
The 2019 Audubon Christmas Bird Count, held three months ago on December 14th, by the Richmond Hill Naturalists club, showed what I think is a an important ranking of the Trumpeter Swan in its tally of birds.   The top seven of the 45 species recorded were:

Mallard Duck                        826
Canada Goose                     582
Rock Pigeon (feral)              396
Black-capped Chickadee     366
Ring-billed Gull                     217
Mourning Dove                     202            
Trumpeter Swan                 125

The number for the Trumpeter Swan is remarkable considering the Trumpeter Swan almost disappeared from eastern Canada 200 years ago, due to hunting and habitat loss.   A provincial re-introduction program started by Harry Lumsden of Aurora, Ontario,  in the early 1980s, and assisted by the Wye Marsh Nature Centre in Midland, has returned the magnificent Trumpeter Swan to remarkable viability in Ontario and beyond.

Please comment if you wish.
BarrytheBirder

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