The majestic trumpeter swan is the largest of our native waterfowl and one of the heaviest flying birds in the world with males sometimes exceeding 30 pounds.

Historically hunted to the brink of extinction, it was recognized as an endangered species long before there was an Endangered Species Act, and its recovery is a conservation success story.

The adult's snow-white plumage with contrasting black bill and feet and 8-foot wingspan define this magnificent bird. Their neck is as long as their body and is used to reach food at the marsh bottom.

In spring, the trumpeter swan is a locally common breeder east of the Cascades, most notably at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. West of the Cascades, wintering birds are most consistently noted in west Polk Count and Sauvie Island, also along the northern coast, lower Columbia River, Forest Grove, and Trojan Nuclear Power Plant.

Trumpeter swans are an Oregon Conservation Strategy Species in the Blue Mountains, East Cascades and Northern Basin and Range ecoregions.

Hear the call of the trumpeter swan

Photo by Dave Budeau, ODFW