Hello,
The news release is out at last about the swan deaths in Whatcom County.
Please know that The Trumpeter Swan Society, at an international level, is
monitoring, and assisting where possible, the efforts of the state, federal
and Canadian officials as they work to resolve this serious problem.
To date, all the birds are trumpeters with the exception of 3 tundra.
This is due to the fact that trumpeters traditionally winter in this area
and tundra do not.

The lead is ingested because the swans think it is grit, just the right size
to aid the grinding action in the gizzard. Yes, it takes only 3 lead
pellets to kill a trumpeter who is eating corn. Some of these birds have
upwards of 40 pellets in their gizzard.

While Canada finally implemented the all steel shot for waterfowl, it will
be decades before the poisoning comes to an end in our wildlife. The
pellets remain available to the birds in the sediments, especially some soil
types or ag fields. Here in the US we are still seeing lead poisoning in
waterfowl, 14 years after steel.
If any one is interested in keeping track of the situation please e-mail
me privately.

Also, any one wanting to know more about the pheasant release sites and use
of lead vs. steel shot please e-mail privately. There is now hard data
indicating that in the areas where the state has been releasing pheasants
then later having a waterfowl season, (except in Skagit County) lead is used
for pheasants then steel for waterfowl on the same piece of land. And WDFW
up to now has been unwilling to address the problem.

Martha Jordan
marthaj at swansociety.org