SEQUIM — The Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society will meet for “Swans of the Dungeness Valley” at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
The group will meet at the Dungeness River Audubon Center at Railroad Bridge Park, 2151 W. Hendrickson Road.
The meeting is free and open to the public. Bob Boekelheide and Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society swan volunteers will present the lecture.
Nearly hunted to extinction in the 19th and early 20th centuries, trumpeter swans numbered several thousand in Washington during the winter.
First recorded on the Sequim-Dungeness Christmas Bird Count in 1982, these large white birds are now regular winter residents of the North Olympic Peninsula.
Local swan count
In 2011, under the direction of Martha Jordan of the Swan Society, Shirley Ament of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and Mary Porter of the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society, a select group of volunteers began counting local swans to determine the birds’ preferred foraging locations and habitats in the area.
The project began because several swans had been found dead of lead poisoning, possibly because they ingested lead shotgun pellets as they foraged the muddy fields.
After four years of surveys, Boekelheide asked if he could compile the swan numbers to see if any patterns showed up.
Answers to questions
In this presentation, Boekelheide will answer some basic questions, such as how do swan numbers change through each season and where do the swans go while they’re here.
Society swan volunteers also will assist with the presentation, sharing how they collect data during their regular surveys.