It is a good thing the spring birds haven’t return here yet as they would find everything still buried in snow. Sometimes there doesn’t seem to be more than a sliver of open water before trumpeter swan return before the calendar says it isn’t winter anymore.
Early Trumpeter Swans
In 1933, fewer than 70 wild trumpeter swans were known to exist after being hunted to near extinction but with the discovery of the swans in Alaska in 1950s, the trumpeters have made a come back. The large native waterfowl, with a wingspan of 6 feet and weighing more than 25 pounds, they required a long 100 yard runway to get airborne.
In the fall, they begin to gather near open water and will feed on aquatic plants until winter locks away their food below a thick sheet of ice and then they migrate to an ice free location.
Fall Gathering of Trumpeter Swans
There are many valentine images that show two swans together with their necks forming an outline of a heart. And while that loving image might match some couples, I have a feeling some guys are in the doghouse this St. Valentine’s Day, the ones who didn’t come up with the proper gift for the sweetheart. Like the guy who buys a piece of farm or shop equipment and think his wife will just ‘love’ it like he does.
Not Sweethearts
There is no hiding your head in sand, or under water, trying to deny that winter is here (even if it wasn’t frozen). With temperatures falling well below zero at night and barely making it above zero during the day, the arctic frigid presence is signaling the start of winter, even if the calendar says it is still a week away.
Hiding from Winter
“On the Seventh Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me Seven Swans A-Swimming.” The recent frigid and upcoming arctic temperature, the swans won’t find much open water to go swimming and might freeze in the ice if they don’t keep moving.
Seven Swans A-Freezing
Yesterday I saw a lone trumpeter swan flying low by my place and it was checking out my pond but continued to fly by since my pond was totally ice covered yet. Other places reported their arrival yesterday, although the southern part of the state already seen their arrival last month, even if not a lot of open water for them then.
Course it is hard to get a picture when both heads are up when they are foraging for food but when they are in sync, they both have water running off their noses.
Trumpeter Swans
Maybe Punxsutawney Phil was right about an early spring, even if my groundhog predicted a long winter, since flocks of geese have been seen as well as the return of some swans by a friend of mine.
My pond isn’t big enough for the Trumpeter Swans to land in or raise a family, but there are spots in the state where they do. The Trumpeter Swan was hunted for its feathers throughout the 1600s – 1800s, causing a tremendous decline in its numbers. Its largest flight feathers made what were considered to be the best quality quill pens.
Trumpeter Swans form pair bonds when they are three or four years old. The pair stays together throughout the year, moving together in migratory populations. Trumpeters are assumed to mate for life, but some individuals do ‘divorce’ and switch mates over their lifetimes. Occasionally, if his mates dies, a male Trumpeter Swan may not pair again for the rest of his life.
I’m still think it will be a long winter because there are hundreds of finches attacking my bird feeders right now and that makes it seem like they are stocking up for another snow storm!
Trumpeter Swans
