trumpeter swans

A soloist comes in from downriver, making the quartet a quintet for a bit.

We stopped a couple of times on our way out along the Yellowstone River. Once where we'd been told there might be Trumpeter Swans. There were! That was the day's second lifer bird species for me :D The other stop was at a spot where we'd been told we might see wolves. We didn't then, but we did...

These swans were playfully following one another and I swear, it looks like they actually walk on water!

One of the distinctives of the Trumpeter Swan is the red stripe on the side of it's black beak.

Can you find nine Trumpeters here? (and of course tons of Mallards and a few Canada Geese hybrids).

An uncommon sight in Manitoba. This pair of Trumpeters decided that Hecla Island on Lake Winnipeg was a good place to raise its brood.

Trumpeter Swan family on Horicon Marsh

Trumpeter Swans taking off from Horicon Marsh

This one of many photos of this group of swans that hung out in the marsh for the month of October, They would be together and then the riot would start, and then calm. not a one was hurt. It was amazing to watch and take some shots

This group was having a bad day.

Over two thousand of these winter in this area

The Trumpeter Swan is rare and endangered in area in which I live. In fact they had become non-existant here but were reintroduced several years ago. They are beautiful white birds but they almost always have stains on their head and neck from rooting around in shallow lake and river...

This is another view of the same swan

Trumpeter Swans are among my favorite birds. They have been reintroced to this region and are still an endangered species. They use their long graceful necks to root around the bottom of lakes and ponds. Unfortunately their neck and head are almost always dirty.

This image is more about nature's light than the swan. We all know Trumpeter Swans are pure white. The very, very last rays of light of the day are bathing this sleepy swan.

A Pair of Trumpeter Swans coming in for a landing.

A cold and grey day, the lake has almost frozen over, and the migrating Trumpeter Swans take a rest on the ice. A group takes flight, photographed through the reed banks. (Updated Nov 13th after further study of photographs taken at the same time, initially thought to be Tundra Swans)

Pair of Trumpeters.

A pair of Trumpeter's with Canada Geese and a Mallard visible also. Taken April 23, 2003