According to the National Park Service, the best time to see Trumpeter Swans in Yellowstone is winter. These graceful birds mate for life and we watched as a pair paddled slowly up and down an area of the Yellowstone River a couple of weeks ago. The Trumpeter Swan is North America’s largest native waterfowl with a wingspan up to eight feet. Once abundant, their numbers declined drastically by the 1930’s due to habitat loss and hunting. Conservation efforts helped increase the numbers in the lower 48 states and Trumpeter Swans are increasing in the Rocky Mountains, and are stable in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, but as of 2022, they are declining in Yellowstone National Park. We were lucky to see and photograph them.