A toy trumpet call announces North America’s heaviest flying bird.
Common to Arkansas 150 years ago, this bird was almost eliminated from the continental U.S. by 1900. Market hunters pursued it for meat, and its feathers adorned fashionable hats.
Captive breeding and release programs restored the bird to its northern breeding grounds. But without a parent experienced in migration, very few birds developed the ability to migrate south.
In 1991, three birds were reported on a lake in Cleburne County. No one knows how they made their initial flight into Arkansas. What is this winter migrant? The trumpeter swan.
You can learn more about viewing them at Magness Lake, east of Heber Springs, at agfc.com.