Our biggest native bird

Most birds found in Missouri raise their young during the spring and early summer. Many of them will still care for their offspring for several days after they leave the nest. But the birds in my photo here were still very much a family when I found them on a local wildlife refuge Dec. 29.

These birds are trumpeter swans. My research says a survey in 1933 revealed only about 70 trumpeter swans existed in North America. Since that time this bird has been able to recover handily, and by 2010 the population was estimated to be over 46,000. Trumpeter swans are the heaviest of all North American birds and their eggs are also the largest at about 4 1/2 inches long. They can have a wingspan of about 10 feet.

The largest populations of trumpeter swans are found in Alaska and Canada with Southeast Missouri at the southern edge of their range. Raccoons, coyotes and bobcats are predators of trumpeter nests and babies, but these big birds are practically free of predation as adults. They may live longer than 20 years in the wild.