OUTAGAMIE COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – The season of spring is bringing some visitors into Wisconsin.
The Tundra Swan is right now in the midst of a one-way trip to Northern Canada in search of nesting grounds, which are in the arctic circle.
They took off originally from the east coast, but are now taking a pit-stop on the 4,800-mile trek.
On Friday, the location of that pit-stop was a flooded farm field just north of the Mack State Wildlife Area.
“They’re following the snow line, and more importantly, the open water,” says Jeff Pritzl, DNR District Wildlife Supervisor. “As soon as things are opening up, the swans are the first ones to come through.”
In fact, he says the birds are a little late.
“Sometimes the last week of February, the first week of March, is when the first birds start showing up,” explains Pritzl. “And things didn’t break loose until the middle of March.”
The soaked fields near Shiocton are good places for the birds to feed and rest.
“They’re just impressive to see and we can see hundreds of them at a time,” he says.
Included in the fold is the Trumpeter Swan, which is larger, standing about five feet tall, with a wingspan of six and a half feet.
“In Wisconsin, we hear more about the Trumpeter Swan, which was an endangered species over the last couple of decades,” says Pritzl. “Their story is very successful to the point where we’ve got hundreds and hundreds of pairs of Trumpeter Swans.”
The Trumpeter’s spend the season in the area and have a mostly black bill, while the Tundra’s have a small yellow mark near their nostrils and are just passing through.
Actually, they may be gone by this time next week.
“They’ll be here until they feel like they’ve re-energized, and or get the next best wind, which is probably coming sometime next week,” he explains. “These birds will leave, but there’s more to come yet.”
