Trumpeter Swans !! Interesting

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Been seeing a pair of swans all summer, was trying to find out the breed and everyone kept telling me they're probably tundra because Trumpeters are almost totally extinct...  come to find out, a news crew was by the pond a few weeks ago and here's the story..

Wednesday, September 19, 1:10 p.m.
By Jon Meyer

People in Susquehanna County are helping a man with a crusade to save a certain kind of swan. The goal is to re-populate the area with this certain species of bird.

They're known for their noises, trumpeting, it's called, from the trumpeter swans.

A pair on a pond near Gibson is among only a few hundred of these swans left in eastern North America.

"Nobody's sort of stepping up to the plate and taking on this challenge," said Michael Bean of The Swannery.

His challenge is to make trumpeter swans a common sight. In colonial times, he said, they could be found all over the east coast.

"This species plays more a part in our history than the bald eagle. We used them, their skins were tanned, their feathers were our pens years ago. The trumpeter swan quill feathers were the ones everyone wrote with," Bean explained.

He now has the birds in Susquehanna County and at other spots in the northeast, all part of his research and an organization he formed to oversee it, The Swannery.

The problem is trumpeter swans don't know how to fly south, a key to their survival. Bean thinks he's found a way for them to learn, using other migrating birds.

"When the last of the trumpeter swans were shot the knowledge of migration went with them," Bean said.

Gary Marcho is hosting the swans in Susquehanna County at the pond across from his greenhouse. He's happy to help out.

"They're a lot of fun. We have a lot of customers that just come up to see the swans," Marcho said.

"We cannot give up on these birds. They're part and parcel of our history," Bean said.

The hope here is that many more are around for years to come.

YES THEY ARE TRUMPETERS !!! LOL

here's the link from WNEP 16
http://www.wnep.com/Global/story.asp?s=7099075