Alaska is not the noisiest place at dawn, but there is one sound that dominates, and that’s the call of the trumpeter swan. The trumpeter swan is the largest swan in the world, with a 2.4m wing span. It is distinctive not only for its beautiful crisp white feathers and its size, but because of its distinctive "trumpet-like" sound. It spends its winters in British Columbia, Washington and Northern Oregon, and then in spring, flies north to Alaska to breed.

The swan was once widespread throughout much of North America, but became virtually extinct by 1900. Hunted for their meat, skin and feathers, the only birds that survived were those that lived year-round in remote areas or whose traditional migration patterns avoided areas of human settlement.

Today, they are a modern day conservation success story. Through a programme of habitat preservation, reintroduction, and the discovery of previously unknown populations, trumpeter swan numbers have steadily increased over the past 60 years. They now number around 16000 - a far cry from the final 69 known to exist in the lower 48 states of America in 1932.