Beyond Life Lists for a Curious, Cautious Birder: The Trumpeter Swan
- Rasheena Fountain
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
When researching my new lifer, I found many intersections. I learned about their struggle for survival that traces back to the 1600s. As a descendent of Black people once enslaved, I think about our shared struggle within the colonial systems.
My life list has grown; this marks growth for some birders. A lifer for a birder is a first-time sighting of a bird. The Merlin Bird ID app makes it easy to track these. I’ve been a casual birder for over a decade. I share the excitement of seeing a new bird for the first time, but I’ve been less dedicated to tracking every new bird. Though, recently, updating my life list has helped me reflect on my own journeys. Through my life list, I can remember the Barred Owl I heard reverberating through the confers in the pitch-black night and the eerie but soothing sound of the Swainson’s Thrush as I lay in bed while caretaking in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. My life list helps me recall the Painted Bunting, a canvas’ dream, that I saw on the Georgia Coast with a group of Black birders. Originally from the Midwest, reflections on my life list are comparable to my glimpses of the Olympics, the Cascades, and Mount Rainier in Seattle. My life list is less about quantity; it’s an opportunity to be a student of the world and to aspire beyond my reach.
For this first reflection on my life list, I would like to reflect on the Trumpeter Swan, spotted on December 13, 2025 at one of my go-to birding spots, Union Bay Natural Area in North Seattle. Union Bay reminds me of areas in Central Illinois where I’d go for walks with my toddler before moving to Seattle in 2016. At Union Bay, I’ve seen Green Herons, Red-winged Blackbirds, Osprey, and American Eagles, to name a few. For so long, a swan was a swan—most notably introduced to me as a child through the The Ugly Duckling book. North America is home to Trumpeter, Tundra, and Mute swans. The Tundra and Trumpeter are native to North America, while the Mute is an introduced Eurasian species.
Again, my life list allows me to deepen my understanding of the beings around me and to learn the unique qualities of specific bird species. When researching my new lifer, I found many intersections. I learned about their struggle for survival that traces back to the 1600s. As a descendent of Black people once enslaved, I think about our shared struggle within the colonial systems. They were almost hunted to extinction between years 1600-1800. Their scientific name is cygnus (swan) buccinare (to trumpet). There would be no Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, nor flute album, New Blue Sun from André 3000, without the Buccinator muscle in our cheeks. Of course, the Trumpeter Swan has a natural instrument: a long trachea that folds back and forth to make its trumpet-like sound. And, I imagine in the musicality of it all—the riffs and improvisations like jazz.
At Union Bay Natural Area on December 13, 2025, I caught a glimpse of a bevy of Trumpeter Swans. Luckily, like my ancestors, the Trumpeter Swan riffs persistence; its populations have recovered since the 2000s. I appreciate the opportunity to bear witness to their survival and add them to my life list.
Rasheena Fountain's book Starfish Blues: A Memoir, was recently released April 22, 2026; it is available to order.
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