2019 Swan Count

Trumpeter Swans in Flight | Kurt Thorson

Each year in late January, SJPT Stewardship Manager Kathleen Foley coordinates a count of swans in San Juan County. It’s part of a regional survey of trumpeter and tundra swans conducted annually by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

All told, we had more than 30 volunteers who counted 145 trumpeter swans (127 adults + 18 juveniles) on the four ferry-served islands. This is slightly down from last year (135 adults + 17 juveniles), but it’s not a significant decline. This year’s numbers are in keeping with the general trend upward in the population. It’s notable that almost the same number of swans were found on Lopez and San Juan Island.

The following is data supplied by WDFW on the regional swan survey, which includes counts from Whatcom, Skagit, Island, Pierce, King, and Snohomish Counties, and the Sumas Prairie in BC, in addition to our San Juan count (all completed within a few days of each other), reflecting a total count of 17,365, down a bit from 18,481 last year.

This table breaks down the results by county: