This guy and his wife have been coming here the last 4 summers. The female is nesting. They do make a point to swim over and say hello
When I was flying up there, in the large migration of millions of waterfowl into the Alaskan interior, the Tundra swans were always the last to show up in the Spring and were the only ones easily seen from the air. You would look for a certain sized still body of water and there they would be, a couple tiny white tear drops. By Fall, you would see the 2 white tear drops followed by smaller brown tear drops. When the big waterfowl migration southward began, the Tundra swans would not leave until forced out by freezing water. Any idea if they use the same nest or build an entirely new one?
@TreeA10 said:
When I was flying up there, in the large migration of millions of waterfowl into the Alaskan interior, the Tundra swans were always the last to show up in the Spring and were the only ones easily seen from the air. You would look for a certain sized still body of water and there they would be, a couple tiny white tear drops. By Fall, you would see the 2 white tear drops followed by smaller brown tear drops. When the big waterfowl migration southward began, the Tundra swans would not leave until forced out by freezing water. Any idea if they use the same nest or build an entirely new one?
This is their first year nesting here. They hung out a couple hundred yards away last year
We get a sizable flock of them at a particular place on Lake Mendota here in Madison every year, shortly before freeze-up. They stay as long as they can, but when the ice starts forming in their favorite part of the lake, off they go. Sometimes I will hear a new flock arriving in the night, and on looking up, their ghostly-white shapes are up there, quite high, highlighted against the dark sky by the glow of city lights. It’s a pretty neat sight.
Can we eat 'em, dad?
I always look for your photos-thanks for posting them.
Your Tundra swans have much better manners than the nasty mute swans up here, which are considered a destructive invasive species and will attack boaters.
When I paddle in areas where mute swans are present, I use my GP so it can be used as a defensive weapon if need be.