Today’s post begins the week with some images of Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) that I captured a week ago at the Squaw Creek NWR, located in northwest Missouri. Trumpeter Swans used to be a rare thing to see in Missouri, but for the last few years, the numbers of wintering Trumpeter Swans here has been steadily increasing. And Missouri now boasts a couple of pairs of swans that nest here (although the location of the nests are kept tight-lipped so the swans are not disturbed).
When I traveled to Squaw Creek, the refuge reported there were 84 Trumpeter Swans on the refuge. The swans were the main focus of my trip there and I was fortunate to spend 3 quality days near them, including 2 days of being very close to a cygnet (young swan) that apparently got separated from his parents. So I have lots of swan images available for sharing and will likely post swan images for the better part of this week.
Today’s images show the beauty of watching these magnificent birds as they make a flyby, before landing near another small group of Trumpeter Swans that are feeding in a refuge pool not far from the road:
I’ll share some more Trumpeter Swan images in tomorrow’s post!
