PASSING THROUGH OR STAYING

 

Last year two Trumpeter Swans overwintered in a cornfield outside Kingsley.

So, I wasn’t all that surprised to see two in the field across from where I normally see cranes, especially after learning of the successful program to reestablish them in the Great Lakes.

But I was amazed at seeing the juvenile Trumpeter that had accompanied the adults.

Through an Audubon e-bird alert, I learned that hundreds of migrating Trumpeters had gathered in a field on Wilson Road outside Buckley, not far from the staging area for Sandhill Cranes.

As I tried to get closer via a two-track through the field, the bunch nearest me took to the air.  Notice the juvenile flying atop the group.  I’d also heard there were Tundra Swans and Snow Geese sprinkled among the Trumpeters.  

It’s very difficult to tell the Tundras from the Trumpeters.  The Tundras are smaller and most have a small yellow spot in front of their eye.  I couldn’t make out that spot until I got home home and uploaded my images to the computer, but I’d found them.

I also found an adult blue morph Snow Geese next to a Tundra.  They are less common than the white morph.

I found another pair of Snow Geese near a Trumpeter.  I had to wonder if all three species would hang around for the winter or whether they were just passing through.