Monday turned out to be one of the sunniest days of the year so far, and, luckily, I had scheduled a trip to Elma and thereabouts. It’s some of the closest farmland around and generally attracts a wide range of birds, but I was most attracted by the prospect of getting some photographs of Trumpeter Swans.
I certainly wasn’t disappointed as the fields were full of swans and more,
in this case Snow Geese mixed in with the flock, apparently devoted to grazing and allowing the swans to provide any needed security. I’ll have to admit I was a little awed by the size of these birds, especially considering that Snow Geese aren’t little birds.
Unfortunately, they were far too shy to get very close to them, probably wise considering that hunting season just ended Sunday. I really wanted to get some shots of a swan floating placidly on a pong, but considering that most of the ponds were iced over I considered myself lucky to get this shot of them on the far side of a large pond:
The biggest thrill of the day might have been when a small flock of Trumpeters flew directly overhead:
I’m planing to return in a few weeks with hopes of getting a little closer to them once the gunfire fades into a distant memory.
There were very few ducks to be seen, and none to be seen in the pond where the hunting blind is located. In fact there weren’t even songbirds. The place was eerily quiet.