Trumpeter swans making a graceful return to the shores of Almonte, Ont.

One of the rarest birds in North America is making a return to the Ottawa Valley.

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More than a dozen Trumpeter Swans have stationed themselves along the banks of the Mississippi River near the Almonte Fairgrounds.

"We just could not believe our eyes," said Almonte resident Kate Miller.

Miller, who has lived on the water for more than 30 years, says this year had the highest number of the birds she has ever seen.

"We first saw a pair about five or six years ago, but it was late in March when everything was thawing," she said.

Trumpeter Swans are the largest swan in the world and are only found in North America.

At one point, the species was on the brink of extinction with only 69 left in existence. Now, roughly 2,000 of them inhabit Ontario.

"We love them," said Almonte resident Darlene Bamford. "To see the swans, it's like something out of a storybook."

Bamford says the swans have been in town for about a week so far this year and live up to their name in the early and later hours of the day.

"It sounds like a trumpet, like someone warming up. And if you hear them at night, they sound like a little band warming up."

More of these precious birds have been flocking to Almonte than ever before.

Trumpeter Swans on the Mississippi River in Almonte, Ont. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)"In the winter they congregate," explains Liz Benneian, the co-founder of the Trumpeter Swan Coalition.

"They try to find spots where there's open water, where they can reach the aquatic plants that they feed on."

Benneian says the swan's babies - or cygnets - are brought to the location on the Mississippi and the birds will remember the available feeding ground to bring future generations.

Trumpeter Swan Conservation Ontario says this winter there have been 314 sightings of the species in the Almonte area.

"Because of climate change, we're seeing swans staying in more northerly areas," said Benneian.

"And you have open water there, they can obviously reach the aquatic plants that they feed on. And so that's why you're seeing them."

"We feel incredibly privileged," said Miller watching on from her back deck.

"But then again, everyone wants to come to Almonte, right?"