Seeing and hearing just one tundra swan is enough to take your breath away.

You can see hundreds of tundra swans at this year's Tundra Swan Day. The free wildlife viewing event will be held March 16 at two locations in northern Utah.

Photo by Phil Douglass, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

Imagine seeing and hearing hundreds of them.

You can at Tundra Swan Day.

Tundra Swan Day, March 16

On March 16, the Division of Wildlife Resources will host Utah's annual Tundra Swan Day. Admission is free.

Viewing will take place at two sites: The Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area west of Farmington and the Salt Creek WMA west of Corinne.

The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge was planning on holding a Tundra Swan Day on March 16 too. However, on March 5, personnel at the refuge announced that the event had been canceled because of cuts in the federal budget.

The Bear River Refuge is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Farmington Bay and Salt Creek

Viewing at the Farmington Bay and Salt Creek WMAs runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Spotting scopes will be available so you can get a close look at the swans.

Learn more

For more information about Tundra Swan Day, call the DWR's Northern Region office at 801-476-2740 or the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge at 435-723-5887.

The Wild About Birds Nature Center in Layton is also a great place to call or visit to learn about recent bird sightings. You can reach the center at 801-779-BIRD (2473).

You can also download a free PDF fact sheet about tundra swans online.

Watching swans on your own

If you can't attend the March 16 event, you can still get out and watch swans on your own.

Phil Douglass, regional conservation outreach manager for the DWR, says the Salt Creek WMA west of Corinne is the best place to get a close look at swans. "Randy Berger, the manager at the WMA, has done a great job creating a viewing pavilion that will shelter you from the wind," Douglass says.

While you can see hundreds of swans while driving on the 12-mile auto tour loop at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Douglass says swans are usually farther away than they are at Salt Creek.

When the swan migration peaks in mid-March, as many as 35,000 swans will be in Utah.