Photograph of Swans and Other Waterfowl, by Dennis Poleschook

Washington’s White Birds of Winter

Presented by Martha Jordan, Northwest Swan Conservation Association

Learn about swans and snow geese at Spokane Audubon Society’s meeting at Shadle Park Library (2111 W. Wellesley Ave.) on Wednesday, September 11, 6 p.m., when Martha Jordan, founder and executive director of Northwest Swan Conservation Association, will present “Washington’s White Birds of Winter.”

Jordan will talk about the changing landscape that swans and snow geese now face in migration and on their wintering grounds. Her presentation includes the birds’ life history, biology, distribution, lead poisoning problems, winter habitat issues, avian influenza impacts, connections for eastern and western Washington populations, and what is needed to ensure their future. She’ll provide resources for swan/goose field identification and how to help “Get the Lead Out” of shooting and fishing activities.

Jordan has a B.S. degree in Wildlife Science from Oregon State University and has worked in both marine and terrestrial environments throughout Washington and parts of Alaska. In the late 1970s while volunteering to observe snow geese and reading their collars in the Skagit Valley, WA, she began to look at the small group of Trumpeter Swans in the same area. By 1984 she had expanded her survey efforts to all of Western Washington and had contributed much information to both state and federal agencies on the status of Trumpeter Swans in Washington State. She wrote the state’s first Trumpeter Swan management plan in 1985.

Trundra Swans in Calispell Lake, photographed by Martha Jordan

This meeting will be a “hybrid” – you can attend in-person at the Shadle Park Library, 2111 W. Wellesley Ave, Spokane, WA 99205, or online via Zoom. Our speaker, Martha Jordan, will be giving her presentation remotely via Zoom.