The distribution and abundance of Mute Swan have both increased dramatically since the introduction of the species to North America. The first breeding record of feral Mute Swans in southern Ontario was in 1958. In the mid-1960s and 1970s, Mute Swans began colonizing the lower Great Lakes and the population has been expanding ever since (Petrie and Francis 2003). The Breeding Bird Survey indicates a strongly increasing continental population, which is reflected by other shorter-term monitoring programs in British Columbia and Ontario (see below), and by the Christmas Bird Count results from British Columbia and Ontario (see Meehan et al. 2018). In southern Ontario, population growth may have slowed down recently, but the breeding population is now estimated to be at least 3,000 birds. In British Columbia, Mute Swan is established on southern Vancouver Island and in the lower Fraser River Valley, with about 300 individuals estimated in these areas in the mid-1990s (Ciaranca et al. 1997). Because it is a non-native species, a population goal has not been set.
Additional information on: Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis
Additional information on: Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario
Additional information on: Great Lakes Marsh Monitoring Program
Additional information on: British Columbia Coastal Waterbird Survey
