Adults and cygnets | Joe Belcovson

You may have noticed that swans have returned to our islands—splashing and bobbing in undisturbed wetlands, lakes, and other bodies of water.

In mid-January, the Preservation Trust, in partnership with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and a great number of volunteers, will help document wintering populations of trumpeter and tundra swans in our region.

Our photo contest last year was a lot of fun, so we’ll be hosting another one this year! If you’re an amateur or professional photographer, all entries are welcome and much appreciated, so be sure to bring your camera along for the count (prizes will be had for the top 3 submissions).

This one-day count will be held on Friday, January 21, 2022. Please SIGN UP HERE to help us count swans so that we can keep track of their conservation success.

To help with our count this year, we are asking all islanders (especially folks on Orcas): Where have you historically seen swans IN JANUARY? Often they move into fields later in the winter, and off the ponds/lakes where we usually search. We are very interested in gathering reports of them using fields— so we have a better idea of where to send volunteers in January. If you have any information that could help us keep track of their winter movements, please email Kathleen Foley Lewis at kathleenf@sjpt.org.