RHH's photos with the keyword: swan

Trumpeter Swans photographed at the W. K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary near Battle Creek, Michigan, while on an outing with my father.

Trumpeter Swan photographed at the W. K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary near Battle Creek, Michigan - we were there on an outing with my father.

The mute Swan is not native to North America but has been introduced from Europe and Asia and has established itself especially in the eastern USA and Canada. Indeed, it has established itself so well that in some areas it is considered a nuisance, not only for its numbers but also for its agressiveness. We realized this on our recent trip to Michigan when we saw these swans on nearly every lake and pond.

Every year we visit the Skagit Valley to see the Snow Geese and Trumpeter Swans which winter in the area, as well as the fields of the tulip and daffodil growers. These Trumpeters were photographed there with the top of Mount Olympus in the background.

Lake Charlevoix is in the northwest part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

There are large flocks of swans feeding in the fields south of the town where we live. I was out today and took some photos of them both on the ground and in the air. It appeared that the flocks were a mix both of Tundra or Whistling Swans and Trumpeter Swans. I believe the swans in this shots are Trumpeters. As you can see, the sky is rather threatening and by the time I finished taking pictures a storm had moved in and it was beginning to rain. Trumpeter Swans were hunted for their feathers and were hunted nearly to extinction in the early 1900's but have made a comeback and are quite common now. These birds can live to be as old as 30 years and often mate for life. There is some great information on Trumpeter Swans at this address: www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Trumpeter_Swan/lifehistory

Photographed in Stanley Park, Vancouver: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2011/01/stanley-par... Thanks to Kavanaru for the correction on the ID.

The swans winter in the fields in our area and there seemed to be more of them than usual this year. This was taken near Sumas, Washington, close to the Canadian border. The picture is a bit grainy, but was the best I was able to get. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/02/eagle-watch...

This swan was bathing, rolling over and over in the water and splashing vigorously with his wings, when we saw him. We watched him for quite a while and took a lot of pictures, but are not even sure that "bathing" is correct, since swans are almost always in or near water and would seem to have little reason to bathe. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/05/woodland-pa...