Since the early 90s, a large flock of trumpeter swans has migrated from the Great Lakes region to a man-made reservoir near Heber Springs called Magness Lake. Dozens of swans call Magness Lake home from November to February, drawing bird watchers from all over the region to experience their beauty and hear their honking cries.
When Ozarks at Large’s Jack Travis visited Magness Lake this weekend, he saw plenty of swans, more than a few ring-neck ducks and even a few seagulls paddling about in the water. As he stood among a few other birders, he captured the haunting sound of the winter visitors.
Visit Arkansas Tourism's website to learn more about the trumpeter swans and their wintertime home, Magness Lake. Some swan facts: Trumpeter swans weigh in at 35 pounds and have 8-foot wingspans, making them the largest native waterfowl in North America and the largest swans in the world. Trumpeters are so big that they require a 100-yard runway for takeoff when attempting flight.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, we almost hunted the species to extinction in the early 1900s, with numbers dwindling to fewer than 70 known swans surviving at Yellowstone National Park in 1932. Their population has since been rehabilitated and estimates now show that about 16,000 trumpeter swans reside in North America.