Am I witnessing a "normal" mass migration of swans?

[Handsonthepole]

I have been watching thousands of migrating swans coming through western Wisconsin (Star Prairie area) this morning. Being an avid outdoorsman it is quite amazing to see this many swans migrating flock after flock and they are still coming through. Just curious if this is normal or just by chance they are coming through my area this year? Spring must be here to stay.

[toughguy]

I haven't seen thousands but I have seen more around then in any year I can remember. Would be nice if they make a huge comeback so they can be easily hunted again. I know there are states that allow hunting for them and I've heard they taste great! When I was a kid it was as if they didn't exist. You would never see one. No Bald Eagles then either. My dad talks about when he was younger there weren't many Canadian Geese either. Now they're thick as rats.

[Raider4ever]

Remember that one year there was no deer hunting in MN. You want to talk about thick as rats nowadays!! In the 70's our family was out for a Sunday drive through Jay Cooke and there were three cars pulled off the side of one of the roads. My Dad (a Firefighter on the Rescue Squad in Duluth) stopped to see if there was anything wrong. There wasn't, everybody was looking at one deer eating up on a hill.

[Raider4ever]

Ooops, hit the submit button a little early. Birds of Prey have benefited most from the halting of DDT use. I don't know what is up with Canada's but yeah, they are out of hand.

[KrabbyPatties]

You're probably seeing Tundra Swans. They just pass through in early spring and late fall. Trumpeter Swans can be seen just about any time of year. Trumpeters do not have anywhere near the numbers that Tundras do. If you're seeing abnormal numbers in WI, I have heard that waterfowl migration seems to be a little east of where it usually is--possibly a result of drought conditions in TX, OK, etc which forced some birds to winter/migrate outside of their normal flyway. Maybe someone else here has more info?