Iowa's Trumpeter Swans Soar to Record 158 Nests in 2025

Majestic trumpeter swans are thriving in Iowa like never before, with 158 nesting attempts recorded in 2025. That's a 17% jump from 2022 and a modern-day record for the state.

These aren't just any birds. Trumpeter swans are North America's largest waterfowl, stretching six feet long with 10-foot wingspans, and they nearly disappeared forever. A 1954 survey found fewer than 100 of these black-billed beauties across the entire United States.

Fast forward to today, and Iowa alone counted more than 4,600 trumpeter swans during the 2025 midwinter survey. Of this year's 158 nests, 98 successfully hatched cygnets (baby swans), with active nests averaging 4.4 young each.

"It's a neat story about the restoration," said Orrin Jones, a state waterfowl biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. "We spent a lot of time and effort to get the population established and it's really taking off right now."

Iowa's recovery began in 1993 when the state released just four swans as part of a restoration plan. Over the next three decades, the DNR released 1,216 swans total, ending releases in 2022. The birds did the rest themselves, with more than 70% of September cygnets surviving to March thanks to strong family bonds.

The Ripple Effect

The swan comeback means more than beautiful birds. Trumpeter swans serve as living proof that Iowa's wetlands are getting healthier, particularly in the prairie pothole region extending into north central Iowa.

"Trumpeter swans are emblematic of healthy wetland systems, clean water, and are a way to tie a species to the habitat," Jones explained. When these massive birds thrive, it signals that entire ecosystems are recovering.

The state used the swans as ambassadors to "trumpet the cause" for wetland conservation. Their presence helped justify protecting and restoring the marshes, ponds, and waterways that countless other species also need.

The birds are doing best on large semi-permanent wetlands in the prairie pothole region, and their numbers keep expanding just as biologists hoped they would.

After 32 years of dedicated work, Iowa has transformed from a state with zero nesting trumpeter swans to one where these giants of the sky are writing their own success story.