Thursday, April 23, 2009

A Chance Encounter With An Immature Trumpeter Swan

I had been down at the lake one day taking photos of the swans and geese. Most of the time, they keep well away from the bridge and are instantly alert to any human activity. To get as near as I can, I usually have to resort to using the zoom feature on my camera to the max. Well, on this day, after photographing the birds in the water and on the ice, I turned my attention to the other side of the bridge, hoping for a rare glimpse of an otter or beaver. I looked directly down and was quite startled to see an immature Trumpeter Swan feeding in the shallows below.

As the swan raised her (?) head out of the water, I stood back a bit not wanting to frighten the poor bird half to death.

The swan quickly realized the potential danger she was in and began paddling away.
Paddle, paddle, paddle.

She gave a couple of quiet honks and continued down the river channel.