Trumpeter swans may be returning to Illinois

~ Before last year, there had been no recorded trumpeter nesting in Illinois in more than 100 years.

KEWANEE, Ill. -- Before Marvin Gradert even rattled corn in his bucket, the big bird approached and extended its long, white neck toward him. Almost without hesitation, the bird pushed its black-fronted head and bill into the bucket. Gradert, sitting on a picnic bench near the lake at Johnson-Sauk Trail State Park, watched the trumpeter swan eat.

Only later, after the swan returned to the water to preen in the morning sun, did Gradert return to his crusade -- the same mission that brought this bird to Johnson-Sauk back on April 30.

"Why," he asked, turning so the logo of The Trumpeter Swan Society was suddenly visible on his blue hat, "won't the state release more of these beautiful birds? They're spending money to release wood rats in southern Illinois and to buy alligator snapping turtles. Why not trumpeter swans?"

Returning on their own

JEFF LAMPE ~ Journal Star (This trumpeter swan was one of two released at Johnson-Sauk Trail State Park earlier this spring. The park is north of Kewan~ee, Ill.)

The answer is not as straightforward as Gradert seems to think. There is no deep-set dislike for trumpeter swans in the Department of Natural Resources. Instead, there is an expectation that the graceful birds will repopulate Illinois on their own thanks to successful releases in neighboring states. Already at least two pairs of trumpeters nested in the Prairie State this year. And each fall and spring, trumpeters pass through Illinois while migrating.

Those are historic sightings. While as many as 100,000 trumpeters may have graced North America at one time, they were pushed to the edge of extinction by a loss of wetlands and by overhunting for hats, powder puffs and other items. Before a pair raised young last year near Savanna, there had been no recorded trumpeter nesting in Illinois in more than 100 years.

Expectations are that more trumpeters will surely follow thanks to ongoing release programs in Wisconsin and Iowa. A survey of the Midwestern interior population in 2005 showed 4,647 trumpeter swans, up 91 percent from 2000.

Beyond merely waiting for birds to arrive, the DNR has also invested time and money in research to determine which winter habitats are most suitable for trumpeters. Mike Conlin said that ongoing study by Southern Illinois University stems back to a 1998 federal swan management plan.

"At the flyway level at that time, they were about 400 or 500 percent above their population goal," Conlin said. "So we put our efforts into the winter ecology stuff.

"The decision was that the greatest void was learning about winter ecology and habitats. Because we've just got to get more of these birds migrating."

Benefits and drawbacks

One drawback of the successful captive release program is that most trumpeters stay where they were let go. This could create headaches similar to those felt by areas plagued by too many resident Canada geese.

None of that satisfies Gradert, a retired John Deere engineer from Geneseo, Ill. He became interested in the birds through a friend in Iowa who has helped release trumpeters in that state. Gradert became even more interested when he learned dozens of trumpeters have been taken from captive breeding programs at the Brookfield and Lincoln Park zoos to Iowa and Minnesota.

"Why don't we release those birds here in Henry County?" he wondered.

So on April 30, two birds from Brookfield and Lincoln Park were released at Johnson-Sauk. Unfortunately, one swan died shortly thereafter from lead poisoning after ingesting 23 lead sinkers.

The other swan remains.