TRUMPETERS PERFORM THEIR ANNUAL CHRISTMAS SWAN SONG IN MISSOURI

WEST ALTON, Mo. -- Birdwatchers near here are growing accustomed to seeing huge white birds at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Riverlands wildlife refuge along the Mississippi in December. Waterfowl hunters at Truman Lake are noticing the same, huge, snow-white birds each winter, and so are winter residents at Lake of the Ozarks. The sightings are the beginning of what hopefully will become a Christmas tradition in Missouri -- the annual return of the trumpeter swans.

Lewis and Clark saw trumpeter swans along the Mississippi River in 1804 when they launched their westward expedition. At that time, tens of thousands of trumpeters, with seven-foot wingspans, probably inhabited the area that now is the Upper Midwest. But draining of their wetland homes and unregulated hunting took a toll on the species. By the middle of the 20th century, the species seemed to be singing its "swan song" in the lower 48 states.

A remarkably successful restoration effort ensued. Birds from a remnant population near the Idaho/Wyoming/Montana borders were used to establish a population in South Dakota. In the 1980s they were introduced to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and, in the 1990s Iowa. Protected under modern hunting regulations the trumpeter swan population in the upper Midwest has swelled to about 1,000.

Dave Graber, a waterfowl biologist at the Missouri Department of Conservation Wildlife Research Center in Columbia, says the return of the trumpeters to Missouri is both predictable and a little erratic.

"Trumpeter swans have an instinct to migrate," says Graber, "so we expected that birds reared up north would find their way south to Missouri in the winter. That has been the case, and we have been seeing trumpeter swans here for quite a few years.

But because they are starting from scratch, these swans didn't have a well-established migratory pattern. They had to explore the state, looking for good locations. As the years go by, we're beginning to see an emerging pattern."

Graber says that trumpeter swans can be seen fairly reliably each December at the Corps' Riverlands area in St. Charles County and at Lake of the Ozarks in Camden and Morgan counties. He says young trumpeters, some of them second-generation wild birds, still haven't established firm traditions of visiting specific wintering areas. This year alone, he has received reports of swans near the MDC's Blind Pony Fish Hatchery southwest of Marshall, at the Savannah city water supply reservoir north of St. Joseph, at farm ponds in Callaway County, a farm pond near Novinger, at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area in Boone County and at Harry S. Truman Reservoir south of Clinton.

"When the weather gets severe up north, they simply head south in kind of a random fashion, searching for good winter habitat," says Graber. "Consequently, they show up rather unpredictably here and there. We're hoping that over time they will develop firm traditions of visiting places that offer them safety and adequate food supplies."

Graber tries to keep tabs on the swans, so he can report their wanderings to the Trumpeter Swan Society, a national organization dedicated to the species' recovery. He says he would appreciate a call from anyone who sees swans.

The people most likely to encounter trumpeter swans are birdwatchers and hunters. Both groups pursue their sports in places that are likely to attract the big birds. He noted that being able to tell swans and other waterfowl apart is critical for hunters, who might otherwise shoot the protected birds, incurring legal problems. Trumpeter swans are likely to be seen near wetlands with Canada geese and other waterfowl.