Noelle Swan

Donna Dewhurst, U.S. Federal Wildlife Service, Public Domain

Early spring and later winters have been welcome changes to trumpeter swans. Once hunted to the verge extinction, the great, white birds have rebounded their population, shed their endangered status, and expanded their habitat further northward.

Alaskan sightings of the rare swans have steadily increased since the mid-20th century and two years ago, scientists confirmed that the number of pairs nesting in Alaska has been climbing since the 1960s. A recent National Park and Wildlife found that in addition to an increase in numbers, the swans have also increased their range and are nesting further north than ever before. Researchers involved in the study believe that shift correlates directly with warming temperatures and longer summers.

Learn more about the comeback of the trumpter swan in Scientific American.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=trumpeter-swans-rebound-assist-global-warming