Swans swarm Grand Bend area early as warm weather continues

An annual migration of tundra swans has taken over the Grand Bend area about a month early, thanks in part to unseasonably warm weather across Ontario.

"Several thousand" swans have landed in fields near the Lambton Heritage Museum, according to events coordinator Gwen Watson. The museum typically hosts a "Return of the Swans Festival" in mid-March, but this year they're stuck with early birds.

"They seem to follow spring as it goes across the country," said Watson.

The swans start their journey north from wintering grounds in Chesapeake Bay in the U.S. to their nesting sites in Canada's Arctic.

An estimated 100,000 swans are expected to stop by Grand Bend in the coming weeks trumpeting their soft "woo-wooing" call, according to Watson.

"They can be quite noisy at times," she said. "Their wings are flapping and they're doing quite a bit of talking among themselves."

Visitors who come to see the swans are asked to use binoculars so as not to disturb the wild birds.