The Iowa Stater, Dec. 15

The Iowa Stater
Dec. 15, 1995

A new swan song
Trumpeter swans Elaine and Lancelot set up housekeeping on Lake LaVerne earlier this fall. The pair are part of an Iowa Department of Natural Resources project to return the once-native birds to Iowa. Trumpeter swans haven't lived in the state since the 1880s. The swans, which thrive in areas of open water, moved on as Iowans drained their wetlands.
The new swans replace two mute swans, also named Lancelot and Elaine, who now are nesting at a spot near Mason City.
Trumpeter swans are larger, more graceful and noisier than mute swans. The trumpeter swan's bill is dark black and more pointed than the knobby, orange bill of the mute swan.

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