Oh the AMAZING Trumpeter Swans 💞
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Last few winters there's been some strange activity in my 'hood. While out on some Adventures with Abigail I witnessed these ginormous white birds flying overhead along the Grand River I am used to seeing geese so I assumed these beautiful creatures must 'snow geese'
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I am so in AWE with these beauties! Every time I witness a sporadic fly-by, they cause me to stop in my tracks, mouth gapes open, I get goose bumps and tears come to my to my eyes ~ there is just something so MAJESTIC about these snow white birds.
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Being caught up with them, I started to spend a little more time along the river so I could try experience them more when ever they decided to fly by.
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One particular day while I was out for my walk, I was so blessed to encounter a flock of them on the river and sadly I was just out for a walk and did not have Abigail with me, so I just stood there and observed them for close to an hour until they fly away.
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It was at that point that I discovered they were actually 'Trumpeter Swans'
I'll never get over the sounds that were coming from them on the frozen river. It was like a mini orchestra. Now I understand where they get the name from. They quite large birds and have an incredible wing span.
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They are white communicative as well, there were about 3 dozen in the river and as I was watching another flock flew over head from up river. As they flew by they were communicating to the birds in the water below and I was absolutely flabbergasted!
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Shortly thereafter I watched as the group in the water assembled into mini flocks, and took off one by one over the course of the hour. It was absolutely astounding witnessing their behaviour and their flight pattern, because each one of them flew in east same pattern. Six assembled and there was 'trumpeting' going on while they arranged themselves. They took a running start and then up they went... they directed themselves down river then circled, changing direction to go up river probably to join the flock that flew overhead as they were on the river.
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It was such a blessing and an incredible thing to witness. Sadly, I don't have photos to mark this amazing experience BUT on another outing ~ I did manage to quickly capture this image of them flying overhead as I was photographing something else, I had JUST enough time to react and snap this. Thankfully, they sounded which gave me a head start in adjusting my exposure to capture their flight.
I am not a wildlife photographer by any means, and my 70-200 lens is not quite adequate enough to capture these birds that are usually off in the distance so now I am thinking of making the leap and investing in a longer lens ( after I sell about a couple hundred more prints to cover the expense 🤣 ) I'd love to observe these beauties a little further through the lens and make GORGEOUS photos to hang on walls! For now, I will do the best I can with what I have.Â
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Have you seen trumpeter swans before? What has your experience been?Â
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