Phare Lake Friends

Five Trumpeter swans have taken up residence at Phare Lake near Sechelt and seem to be planning on staying the winter. Trumpeter Swans are the heaviest flying bird in North America, weighing in at 11 kg with over 1.8 m wingspans. Almost hunted to extinction by 1900, they are a success story for conservation efforts to the point that they are no longer considered a species at risk. They generally mate for life, with breeding populations reaching from the Great Lakes, north across the Canadian Prairies, into the Yukon and Alaska. Most winter along the coastline of BC and the Fraser River lowlands. A visit to Iona Island or Boundary Bay will almost always provide opportunities to view many flocks of this majestic species of waterfowl. Rand Rudland Photo