The swans are back. While the ice was on the small lake near our house the swans and the Canada geese were both trying to lay claim to the nesting rights. In this photo from a previous post you can see the swans on the left and the Canada goose is circled on the right.
We walk past this lake almost every day and for about a week it looked like the geese had won. We only saw two geese and no swans. I was surprised as swans have nested here for several years. But then there was a showdown! A neighbor reported that they had a real argy bargy!
But this week I think the swans have been victorious. One came over to see what we were doing and the other remained at a distance.
You can see in the photo above that the swan has a yellow tag on his wing. I am not a swan expert but I believe this is a Trumpeter swan. They were endangered but now their numbers have increased.However in certain States in the US there are hefty fines for shooting a Trumpeter swan. A couple of years ago, in the autumn, I noticed the young swans had the numbered yellow tags. I wonder if this is one of them?
Over the summer I will watch for babies to appear and then will be counting them every time I see them. Some years the babies all survive to fly away in the fall but other years some are taken by predators.
Stay well and have a safe week ahead.
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