Trumpeter swan sighted in eastern P.E.I.

A trumpeter swan, rarely seen east of the great lakes, has made an appearance in eastern P.E.I.

'There he was in his glory just like a fairy tale floating around.' Angela Kelly

The bird was first seen by Angela Kellylast Tuesday. She was driving along the Floating Bridge Road when she noticed it swimming with a Canada goose in MacLure's Pond, just west of Murray River.

"The first spotting, I saw his bum and he was with Canada geese and all these birds had their rear ends up in the air and I was thinking, that's odd," said Kelly.

"I thought, well, it must be a farm goose that got loose and just decided to go for a swim. And I thought that for a while and I drove on. I decided to come back that way on Tuesday morning and there he was in his glory just like a fairy tale floating around. And finally other people have spotted him."

Birders speculate the swan could have taken a wrong turn while migrating, or joined a flock of Canada geese during migration.

Biologists recognize three main populations of the swan: on the Pacific Coast, in the Rocky Mountains in the U.S., and around the borders of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

The trumpeter swan is the largest of North America's waterfowl, typically weighing 12 kilograms with wingspans up to three metres.