Winter 2002: Unfortunately, the radiolocation from has not changed since mid-October indicating that the radio has fallen off or the bird has died.   We did obtain nearly a year’s worth of information from this swan including its migration route north, its breeding area and a partial migration south. We will be archiving information about this bird shortly since we are no longer monitoring it.

October 15, 2002: Carrot River, Saskatchewan. The swan migrated an additional 700 miles southeast to east-central Saskatchewan, south of the town of Cumberland House near the Manitoba border. This area is comprised of boreal forest and large glacial lakes. This route is farther east than she took migrating north this spring through Saskatchewan.

October 2-October 10, 2002: Lake Athabasca, Saskatchewan. The next good location we have received from this swan is on the west side of Lake Athabasca in Woods Buffalo National Park in Northern Saskatchewan. This is about 200 miles from her last stop at Great Bear Lake. She stopped here on her migration north (back in May) and stayed for a week at that time.

It appears that many of the swans that go from Virginia to the western arctic follow the same general track with some common stops. It is a northwest-southeast track that passes (from Virginia) through the Great Lakes to the Lake Manitoba area, then to Lake Athabasca, to Great Slave Lake, to Great Bear Lake and then to the arctic coast. If you look at a map this is a fairly direct NW-SE track with these major staging areas scattered along the way. Some swans may stop at all locations while others may bypass some.

September 24, 2002: Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories. She moved about 800 miles southeast since her last known location and is now in the Resolute Bay area (southeast side) of Great Slave Lake. Great Slave Lake has been one of the common resting points for swans going to and from the western arctic.

September 16, 2002: Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, Northwest Territories. She moved about 100 miles southwest down the Peninsula into the Eskimo Lakes area of the MacKenzie River Drainage. She is starting her southward migration, most likely with a brood of cygnets (and her mate). At the start of their migration, they will probably make short to moderate flights, with rest stops in between, until the cygnets gain strength and become stronger fliers.

June 16 - September 11, 2002: Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, Northwest Territories. She stayed in the same general location for the entire summer, a pretty good indication that she nested and is raising a brood. This area is known to be an important nesting area for tundra swans and one of the radioed swans from last year (#30425 - captured at Hog Island) nested in this same general location.

May 31 – June 8, 2002: Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, Northwest Territories. She made a big move between May 27 and May 31, over 970 miles, and is now located on the Tuktoyaktuk (pronounced Tuk-o-yak-tuck) Peninsula east of the MacKenzie River Delta. She is now on the northern coast of North America at the edge of the Beaufort Sea. This area is comprised of many marshes and islands that make excellent nesting and brood rearing areas, and is one of the major breeding areas for tundra swans. She is finally getting close to the area where she will nest.

May 23, 2002: Lake Athabasca, Alberta. She moved ~200 miles during the past week and is now located on the west end of Lake Athabasca on the east side of Wood Buffalo National Park. Lake Athabasca is located along the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, just south of the Northwest Territories. The lake is 208 miles long by 32 miles wide with a maximum depth of 407 feet. Wood Buffalo National Park is known for it's nesting population of the endangered whooping crane. She spent over a week here before moving on.

May 11-19, 2002: Northwest Saskatchewan. Between May 7 and May 11 she moved another 150 miles northwest to Frobisher Lake. She appears to be making short moves between stops. She is probably waiting for the ice to melt and for more favorable weather conditions further north.

May 7, 2002: Canoe Lake, Saskatchewan. She moved 120 miles northwest to the area around Canoe Lake in northwest Saskatchewan. She stopped here for only a few days before moving on. This area is similar to the area around Prince Albert where she was last week.

April 24 – May 2, 2002: North-Central Saskatchewan. She moved another 260 miles northwest to the area around Prince Albert National Park. She is now at the southern edge of the Aspen Parkland Region where the prairie grasslands transition into more wooded habitats. The area is also characterized by larger, more permanent water bodies with fewer pothole-type wetlands.

April 16-20, 2002: Southeastern Saskatchewan. She moved 180 miles west-northwest into southern Saskatchewan near the town of Kamsack. She is still in the prairie pothole region and is probably making use of some of the larger, more permanent wetlands for feeding and resting. This area of the prairies is quite dry this spring and many of the smaller temporary wetlands are drying up.

April 12, 2002: Lake Manitoba. She has traveled another 750 miles northwest and is located on the southern end of Lake Manitoba, near the town of Amaranth in Manitoba, Canada. Lake Manitoba is well known as a staging area for waterfowl in both the spring and the fall of the year.

March 23 - April 4, 2002: Lake Huron. The swan has finally left Virginia and moved 480 miles northwest to the western side of Lake Huron, in Saginaw Bay near the town of Bay Port, Michigan. Lake Huron appears to be an important staging area for tundra swans as several of our swans have stopped along its shores. Swan #30420 is also located in Saginaw Bay, just 10-20 miles away.

February 19, - March 10, 2002: Potomac River, Virginia. The swan has remained in the Nomini Creek area of the Potomac River close to where it was captured. The creek provides sheltered waters with little disturbance and many birds spend the entire winter here.

February 05, 2002: Nomini Creek, Virginia. This swan was captured on Nomini Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River in Westmoreland County, VA. This creek traditionally winters between 200-500 swans. These swans feed on submerged aquatic vegetation and associated invertebrates in the creek and in agriculture fields adjacent to the river.