According to Marion County Conservation Naturalist Marla Mertz, waterfowl have now begun to appear in the area.

Mertz indicated in her December Nature Notes that North America’s largest waterfowl, trumpeter swans, began moving into the area in late November. Mertz says that above average temperatures have limited the number of trumpeter swans from coming to the area, but added that the number should increase once temperatures return to typical seasonal marks.

“We’ve only noticed about a dozen that have come into the areas around the lake, and we’re kind of waiting for that number of 75 to 100 coming in, but it has been unseasonably warm. There’s open water more up north than what we think that there might be this time of year, so they really haven’t moved down.”

Find the full interview with Marla Mertz here.