Revisiting the Trumpeter Swans - Photos and Text by Bob Kelly

I was called back to the marsh in Hamilton County today to get some additional and closer photos of the Trumpeter Swans and their cygnet with my larger telephoto lens.  It was a wonderful way to sit in the car and shoot through an open window, and capture hundreds of images.  Most birds and animals are not scared if you stay in your car, for they are not in fear of it, so I just shot away, consuming over 700 frames, most of which I rejected due to the difficulties of holding that big lens steady under those conditions.  I narrowed the files down to these seven images which I liked most.

Normally a pair of Trumpeter Swans have a brood of more than one cygnet, which causes me concern over the fate of this one's brothers and sisters.  There is a good chance they met an unpleasant fate a few weeks ago.  The Trumpeter Swan is the largest native North American bird, weighing 26 pounds with a wingspan of 57 to 64 inches.

The little cygnet has learned from Mom and Dad how to slurp up algae for a tasty treat, and when he is older he can chomp off leaves of the reeds in the marsh, like his parents enjoy doing.  It was fun to capture these images, and I hope you can see some Trumpeter Swans for real someday soon.  Enjoy!