Photo by Dieter Kinner
December 14: I’m in my warm slippers and a robe at 8:30 this morning when the phone rings. It’s my neighbor and camera buddy, Dieter [Kinner], saying, “Grab your camera and a long lens. There are swans on the lake right now! I’ll pick you up in 5 minutes.”
So off we go. Its probably 20 degrees outside and lots of ice on the lake. We drive to the area across from the boat ramp and snap a few shots, then follow the swans closer to the west side, where there were around fifty geese. On several occasions, the geese flew over and close to the swans.
There were seven Trumpeter Swans, which I understand is a pretty unusual sight.
Here is a Wikipedia entry:
“Their breeding habitat is large shallow ponds and wide slow rivers in northwestern and central North America, with the largest numbers of breeding pairs found in Alaska. Natural populations of these swans migrate to and from the Pacific coast and portions of the United States, flying in V-shaped flocks. Released populations are mostly non-migratory.
In the winter they migrate to the southern tier of Canada, the eastern part of the northwest states in the United States, especially to the Red Rock Lakes area of Montana, and have even been observed as far south as Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Historically they ranged as far south as Texas and southern California.[4]
These birds feed while swimming, sometimes up-ending or dabbling to reach submerged food. The diet is almost entirely aquatic plants. In winter, they may also eat grasses and grains in fields. The young are fed on insects and small crustaceans along with plants at first, changing to a vegetation-based diet over the first few months.
Predators of Trumpeter Swan eggs include Common Raven (Corvus corax), Common Raccoon (Procyon lotor), Wolverine (Gulo gulo), American Black Bear (Ursus americanus), Brown Bear (Ursus arctos), Coyote (Canis latrans), Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) and Northern River Otter (Lontra canadensis). Most of the same predators will prey on young cygnets, as will Common Snapping Turtle (Chelhydra serpentina), California Gull (Larus californicus), Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) and American Mink (Mustela vison). Larger cygnets and nesting adults are preyed on by Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), Bobcat (Lynx rufus), Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and Coyote.
Few predators, apart from the Bobcat and possibly the Golden Eagle, are capable of taking adults when they are not nesting.”
~Bob Bower
Photo by Becky Johnson
