Dec. 13, 2015 - Tundra Swans

Last Tuesday, Diana and I drove to Brownsville, MN, located on the Mississippi River in the southeast corner of the state. That stretch of the river is a favorite stop-over place for migrating Tundra Swans. They’re going from summer nesting locations on the far northern tundra to their final wintering area off the east coast.

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From a parking area located on Highway 61 where the swans gather, we saw thousands of swans spread out over the wide, shallow river. Some were quite close to us so I concentrated on photographing them. The all-white bird is an adult and the other two with gray heads and necks are juveniles hatched this year.

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Many of the swans were resting and preening. This juvenile is using its very large foot to scratch its neck.

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This swan might look like it is playing hide and seek but it is just preening its feathers.

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When your bill is the main tool you have to accomplish the job, you can end up in some unusual positions.

SwanTundrapreeningBrownsville20151208

Tundra Swans are large birds. They measure from 48 to 56 inches long. Their wingspan is six to seven feet. This juvenile was not being aggressive toward the other swan; it was just stretching its wings.

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Tundra Swans are smaller than Trumpeter Swans, which can be 58 to 72 inches long with a wingspan up to 8½ feet wide.

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On the way down to Brownsville, I saw a large bird land in a tree along the road. I pulled over, took some photos, and ended up with a nice shot of a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk.

HawkRedtailedWabashaCounty20151208