More swans!

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!

When Florida blogger Lowell posted an enviably beautiful shot of a swan a month or two ago I had one of those moments of ignited curiousity. Mainly: “Hey! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a swan. I wonder if we have swans here.” Then I noticed some very big white birds – at quite a distance – in a field. I couldn’t figure out how to get closer and soon they disappeared.

Last week I passed another field and bingo! There they were, closer to the road. It’s possible they’re common here but I admit to getting really excited. They didn’t glide serenely across a glittering pond, but a swan’s a swan. I’m think they were trumpeter swans. They could be tundra swans but their heads and all black bills look a little more like what I see in my book. I’ll post another couple shots tomorrow.