A flock of swans grazed last week about 30-40 feet from the side of the road along the edge of a field as I drove by last week. They occasionally murmured to one another as they pecked away, and there were immature birds with grayish brown plumage alongside the pure white adults. I’ve guessed that these are trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator). If they are, they are birds that were hunted nearly to extinction in the early 1900s. It wasn’t until the 1970s that these swans began to return to western Washington.
Trumpeter swans are more common in the Samish and Skagit flatlands of Washington and in the Snohomish River area. I was really thrilled to see them. One more picture tomorrow and then I’ll get on to other views of life around Sequim.
Swans are such beautiful birds. You did a neat job of capturing that in your photos. The Trumpeter swans have also made a come back here.
I’ve seen trumpeter swans on Mary Beth’s blog. They are pretty. Kind of cheerful to have around, I imagine. Don’t think we have ’em down here. We get Canadian geese and they poop all over.
It’s strange but for some reason I woke up singing, “Way down upon the Swannee River…”
What’s that all about? The Swannee isn’t too far from us, but still. Oh, wait, this is all your fault what with the many swans. Sheesh! :-))
Isn’t it nice to still get a thrill over seeing a flock of birds? These guys are lovely. Well worth your time to stop and enjoy them.
Wonderful sigh! I’ve never seen swans in the wild.