October 18- November 30, 2002:  Victoria Island, Nunavut (Northwest Territories).  A signal is still being transmitted from the collar but it is still in the same location since June 13, 2002.  It’s apparent that the radio is no longer attached to the swan.  We were able to gain valuable data from this swan including information on staging locations, it’s migration route north and it’s breeding location.  We will be archiving information about this swan shortly since we are no longer monitoring this bird.

September 23- October 13, 2002: Victoria Island, Nunavut (Northwest Territories). We are still receiving a signal from Victoria Island in the same location she has been in all summer. This may not be a good sign as most other swans have already started their migration south. It may be that she is just late departing but another possibility is that the collar has fallen off or the swan has died. Hopefully she will start moving soon.

June 13 - September 15, 2002: Victoria Island, Nunavut (Northwest Territories). This swan has remained on the Collison Peninsula near the southeastern edge of Victoria Island all summer. We assume she has nested and will begin her southward migration sometime soon. Our other swan that is located on Victoria Island, #33894, has not started moving south yet either. The two radioed swans that nested in the western arctic have just started moving in the past week or so.

June 13, 2002: Victoria Island, Nunavut (Northwest Territories). She has moved 200 miles further north across Queen Maud Gulf and is now located on the east side of Victoria Island. Victoria Island, located in the Arctic Ocean, is the third largest island in Canada and the ninth largest in the world. It is an important nesting area for a number of waterfowl species including tundra swans, snow geese, Canada geese, brant, eiders, and sandhill cranes.

June 9, 2002: Northwest Territories. The swan had moved another 400 miles north and is now located in the central arctic near the coast of the Northwest Territories. She is within the boundaries of the Queen Maud Gulf Bird Sanctuary in arctic tundra habitat. This area is a major breeding ground for a variety of waterfowl including Tundra Swans, Snow and Ross’ Geese, White-Fronted Geese, and Canada Geese.

May 11 – June 5, 2002: Northeastern Alberta. On May 11 she was located on the west side of Lake Athabasca near Fort Chipewayan and Wood Buffalo National Park. Some of our other radio-equipped swans are also located here at Lake Athabasca. Swan #33888 was here from May 14-18 and swan #33887 was here from May 23-27.

May 2-6, 2002: Western Manitoba. She moved 130 miles northwest across Lake Winnepegosis and is now located on the northwest side of the lake. This habitat in this area is similar to her last stop with a mix of grasslands and forests.

April 28, 2002: Central Manitoba. She moved 270 miles northwest and is now located on the east side of Lake Winnipegosis. This area is a transition between prairie and temperate forest and contains numerous ponds and lakes.

April 24, 2002: U.S.-Canadian Border. She has moved 110 miles north up the Red River Valley to the Minnesota-Canada border. If the swans are headed up to the Canadian arctic, they are still a little less that halfway there and it's probably a good time for them to stop and wait for things to start thawing out further north.

April 16-20, 2002: North Dakota-Minnesota Border. Since April 11, she has traveled 350 miles northwest and is located north of Fargo, North Dakota. Like a number of our other radio-equipped swans, she is located in the Red River valley along the North Dakota-Minnesota border, indicating that this is a pretty important staging area for these birds. She has traveled over 1,600 miles so far (1,200 straight-line distance) in about one month’s time. The swans are probably stopping here to feed and replenish the nutrient reserves they have used up during the migration thus far.

April 11, 2002: Wausau, Wisconsin. She has traveled to the west 375 miles and is now close to the town of Wausau in central Wisconsin.

March 13 – April 7: Lake Huron, Ontario. She moved another 90 miles west to the eastern side of Lake Huron. She is located near the town of Bayfield, Ontario, not far from swan 33894.

March 9, 2002: Lake Erie, Ontario. The swan moved 350 miles northwest to Long Point, Ontario, on the north side of Lake Erie. Swans #33888 and 33894 have also stopped in this area. As mentioned earlier, Long Point is a major staging area for many species of waterfowl during the spring migration because of its extensive marshes. Long Point is a narrow peninsula, nearly 20 miles long, that juts out into Lake Erie from the Canadian side.

March 1-5, 2002: Potomac River, Virginia. The swan remained in the Potomac River area near the place it was captured, feeding in shallow tidal-water flats and roosting on the open water of the creek and the Potomac River.

February 28, 2002: Popes Creek, Virginia. This swan was also caught near George Washington’s Birthplace National Monument in Westmoreland County.