Video
Trumpeter Swans on their Breeding Grounds
Descriptive Transcript
Title card reads: TRUMPETER SWANS ON THEIR BREEDING GROUNDS, Animal Surveys, U.S. National Park Service, Joseph S. Dixon, George M. Wright, Ben H. Thompson, Photography by Joseph S. Dixon.
Intertitle card reads: The Trumpeter Swan ~ The largest living native North American waterfowl, believed by many ornithologists to be on the verge of extermination in the United States, still struggles for existence in Yellowstone National Park where a few pairs have recently been found nesting.
A cloudy sky looms over a still lake and the small mountains behind it.
A different angle of the same lake and mountains, now with reeds and grasses visible in the lake.
A pair of adult swans swim on the lake’s waves, moving away from the camera.
An adult swan and baby swans, called cygnets, swim in the distance, close to a shoreline opposite from the camera.
Close-up of an adult swan swimming, with five baby swans swimming huddled up alongside the adult’s right side.
Two adult swans swim on a wavy lake, with reeds and tule grasses in the foreground.
Close-up of two baby swans swimming among the reeds. One swan chases the other swan deeper into the reeds.
Baby swan swims in the shallows among broken reeds. It swims away toward more open water.
Baby swan wiggles in the shallows among broken reeds moving towards open water.
Baby swan sits in thick algae in the shallows of the lake.
Baby swan waddles in the grass on land.
Baby swan briskly swims through the algae in the shallows.
Baby swan swims in calm water among a few short, broken reeds, opening its bill as if calling to others.
Wider-angle view of a baby swan swimming in algae-covered water. Reeds and grasses blowing in the wind and forested hills are visible in the background.
An adult swan swims on the open lake.
The swan family—two adults and five babies—swim on the open lake. Another bird, resembling a black duck, swims in the foreground.
An adult swan swims in from right to left, trailed by four of the babies.
An adult swan swims with six baby swans in front of her, close to her side. The babies spread out from the adult swan for a moment before returning to the their parent.
An adult swan swims out of frame, with three babies trailing behind. Another adult swan followed by three babies swim behind them.
An adult swan swims from right to left with three babies trailing behind.
An adult swan swims with five babies in tow. A sixth baby joins them.
An adult swan swims on a calm lake with one baby behind it. Behind the first group is another adult swan with other babies.
Now going from left to right, an adult swan swims with four babies behind it. Behind the first group is another adult swan with two babies.
An adult swan swims surrounded by six babies. The adult makes occasional honking gestures and looks around as the babies swim further away from her.
A wood stork stands with its feet in the water, with a tall grassy hill behind it. The stork moves around in the shallow water with its head down, eventually putting its beak down into the water to feed.
One adult swan swims on a wavy lake and is joined by a second adult. The second swan puts its head in the water for a moment.
The pair of adult swans swim close to the shoreline.
The swan family swims in the distance on the lake. Another lone adult swan swims closer in the foreground. The two adult swans turn their heads toward the intruder.
An adult swan swims on a calm lake.
An adult swan flies in with its wings spread open and lands on the lake.
Two adult swans swim on the lake facing each other and flapping their wings vigorously in defense before tucking them away.
An adult swan flies in low and lands on the lake in front of a group of baby swans.
The pair of swans swim on choppy lake. They briefly flap their wings and bob their heads up and down at each other in a courtship ritual.
An adult swan with its wings flapping swims quickly toward another adult swan and a group of baby swans. The adult that swam over bobs its head up and down and shakes its tail feathers.
One baby swan followed by its five siblings swims on the lake.
The swan family swim on a calm lake with five babies in a line between the adults.
An adult swan swims with three baby swans away from a rocky and grassy shoreline toward another adult swan in open water.
Two adult swans and six baby swans swim on calm water. The baby swans swim a little bit away from their parents—in different formations and in small circles—but never too far away.
A cloudy sky hangs over the swan’s silhouetted lake and the surrounding mountains.
End card reads: The End.
Description
Watch a historical short film from the 1930s created to bring attention to trumpeter swan conservation in national parks. Footage is from a wildlife survey in Yellowstone National Park conducted by George Meléndez Wright, Joseph S. Dixon, and Ben H. Thompson from 1929 to 1933.
Duration
16 minutes, 8 seconds
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