Minnesota’s Trumpeter Swans (Re-post)

(This post originally published in August 2010)

My last day shooting on my recent Minnesota trip turned out to be one of my best. I had been hoping for some Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator), but up until now had not seen any. I decided to try a local wildlife conservation area, the Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area, which is located just a few miles from where I was staying. As I began driving around the area on the ~9 mile auto tour route, things were looking rather bleak. Most of the area’s waters were covered by water lilies to the point that water was not even visible. The only clue that there was water was the lilies and lots of cattails. But as I rounded the corner by the last large water pool, I looked over and behold, a large white bird in some open water! Slowing down and getting around the tall growth between me and the pool, I noticed there were several white birds. All told, I had found a Trumpeter Swan family, 2 adults and 3 cygnets (young swans)!

I pulled to the side of the road, set up my tripod, and shot these lovely birds for about an hour. Please note that one of the adults has a yellow band around it’s neck, bird #Z85. Here are a few of my favorite images:

Trumpeter Swan pair with 3 cygnets

Adult Trumpeter Swan with 2 cygnets

 

Trumpeter Swan pair with 3 cygnets

 

Trumpeter Swans swimming towards me

 

Trumpeter Swan flapping wings

 

Trumpeter Swan pair, in synchronous movement

 

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