The federal government is considering a proposal to establish a new hunting season for tundra swans in the Prairie provinces — a move that one hunter says could endanger trumpeter swans, a similar-looking, sensitive species.
Proposed changes to Canada’s migratory bird regulations would create a new tundra swan hunting season in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Tundra swans are hunted in a handful of U.S. states, but in Canada they’re currently a protected species at the federal level.
David Duncan, a hunter and retired biologist, says such a hunt could lead to people mistakenly shooting trumpeter swans, a sensitive species that can’t be hunted anywhere in North America.
How do you tell the difference
The first thing I noticed was the white spot by the closer swan’s eye. The second thing was that it has a thicker, shorter neck.
Tundra Swans are much smaller than Trumpeters. But the giveaway to me is the little white spot near the Tundra’s eye.