Caledonia Argus

Tundra swans converging on refuge south of Brownsville

Posted: 11/11/03

A huge number of tundra swans have congregated in the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge south of Brownsville

Jim Nissen from the refuge office in Onalaska said that an aerial survey had counted 10,000 swans or more south of Brownsville on November 8. Just a week earlier, a similar count had shown only 65 swans.

Last year there was a peak count of 31,000 swans in the Upper Mississippi River Refuge. A total of 110,000 were counted in their wintering area out east. So almost a third of North Americaís tundra swans pass through our area.

ìThatís why this refuge is considered a globally important bird area,î Nissen said.

They have come from Alaska, and will go from here to the Chesapeake Bay area and into Virginia and North Carolina for the winter.

The swans are attracted to this area because of the abundance of high-energy food, mostly tubers from arrowhead plants near shore and wild celery and sago pondweed further out. When you see the swans tipped over, tails in the air, they are eating tubers. They also dislodge them using their webbed feet.

Itís an important stop, because there are a lot of young birds and they need this food to make the next leg of their amazing journey.

Nissen said there are more swans now than in the old days. We are seeing more of them in our area because their prime feeding grounds further north, such as at the Weaver Bottoms, arenít so prime anymore. Just the opposite has occurred here, thanks to river draw-downs in 2001 and 2002, and two habitat restoration projects.

The great habitat has helped diving ducks too. In 1997, there was a peak population of 1,000 canvasbacks and other divers. Last Friday, fisheries workers saw about 60,000 diving ducks.

The swans will be around until the water starts to ice up or their food dwindles. ìTheyíll start drifting south along the river or moving east,î Nissen said.

Nissen summed up the tundra swan phenomenon with two words: ìItís unbelievable.î

You can get information on the swans at this website: http://midwest.fws.gov/uppermississippiriver/, or by calling 1-800-218-8917.

Top of Page