For the past week now trumpeter swans have been flying over our house making their long trip north. Despite the noise and sometimes nuisance they can cause I love when I first hear them returning as it means Spring has officially arrived. Our town also has another indication that Winter is over but I'll save that for another post. For some reason I am fascinated by these migrating birds. I changed my lens to my zoom one and ran outside but they were too far away. So I waited and threw the balls for the dogs and waited some more. No more came after half an hour so I went back inside. I just sat down and crack open my accounting book again and I hear their distinct call to each other. So I grab my camera and slip into my boots and run back out into the yard. This time I was able to barely catch a shot of them.
The perfectionist in me wasn't happy so when Jon got home from work we went down to the bird sanctuary that is next to the river that runs through our small town. We stood as far on the bank of the river as we felt safe. Just a little on the ice but not too far. And there we saw them... hundreds and hundreds of them congregating.
Some were flying there
Others were already there resting their wings and enjoying the bits of thawed river.
There was one lone one. He lost his friends somewhere along the way. Hopefully he found them in that group!
I posted a couple pictures on facebook and the next day two people contacted me about tips of where I could find more swans. I was already planning on heading to a nearby lake 40 minutes away called White Swan Park where they boast thousands of swans go there every year. So I thought I'd swing by these other locations on the way back. The park ended up being a total bust. Not ONE bird was there! Nothing! They might go there at some point but it's not now! So I headed back to town and checked out the other two places. One was too hard to get to, and I didn't think my car could make it in the farmer's muddy feedlot. The other was also a dairy farm but the birds were right along the road and they didn't even flinch when I drove on the road maybe 10 feet from them. So I got some sweet pictures! There was WAY more here!
This is only one section of them... there was probably over three times this many!
Simon says "Look Right!"
So now that the swans are back it's about time for the return of the geese! And then Spring is really coming!
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