A Trumpeter Watch report: I was looking at the sky out our big kitchen window when a pair of HUGE white birds flew low over our back yard, immediately in front of me … west to east. I watched them fly over several houses to the east, then they turned and flew BACK towards me and over our house going west again … still flying low. (Must have been startled or confused.)

When they turned I could clearly see their solid black faces and sloped foreheads. They definitely were not Mute Swans and seemed even bigger-bodied than Sandhill Cranes. MUCH bigger than Canada Geese. Many years, I’ve seen migrating flocks of Tundra Swans go by above our house, but they seemed barely bigger than Canada Geese … so it was primarily their color and calls that clearly distinguished them for me.. Today’s 2 birds seemed enormous in comparison.

We live next to a wide creek ravine, and a strip of conservancy land along the creek, at the edge of the City of Green Bay. We’re about 4-5 miles inland from the Bay, but only about 1/2 mile from a small lake (large pond) and wetland conservancy hidden in the center of a suburban business park, owned and managed by the City. Sandhills and many other waterfowl nest there. The City straddles a migratory bottleneck … so perhaps these 2 swans stopped at this nearby lake during their migration … then got a little lost.

I’ve read about Trumpeters and recovery efforts for many decades, so I’m pretty sure I saw some just now … for the first time in my life … up close .. while standing at my kitchen sink !!! I was stunned.

Unfortunately, I was inside a well-insulated brick house, so I couldn’t hear if they were “trumpeting.” Wish I could have heard that …and I have never seen anything like these 2 birds here before.

After seeing them, I started searching online for an update on Trumpeters’ status in Wisconsin … then I tripped over your website. Thank you for your efforts!