LaSalle Marina in Burlington, Ontario

Trumpeter swans are the largest swans in the world and the biggest and heaviest native waterfowl species in North America. But in the late 1800s, they were critically endangered due to hunting for meat and feathers. Trumpeters went locally extinct in in the province of Ontario in 1886. At one time, there were fewer than 100 Trumpeters in the entire continent.

In the 1980s, conservation efforts and a breeding program brought Trumpeter Swans back from the brink of extinction in North America. One of those captive-bred swans, Pig Pen, was the first Trumpeter Swan in Ontario in more than 100 years to migrate south, choosing to overwinter at LaSalle Park in Burlington in 1993.

Trumpeter swans are now the official bird of the city of Burlington, as hundreds of Trumpeters overwinter in the LaSalle Marina in Burlington every year. Many of them wear wing tags that help conservationists monitor populations and track migrations. And yes, the massive birds truly do sound like trumpets.