Kip’s Comments - December 18, 2022

Two Interesting Observations

After a week had passed since we took an air boat out to check on a possibly injured or ill swan, this morning I looked at them again. As happened recently, I did not see any bird that appeared less than healthy. That is a good thing!

One thing that I did notice was there was not one, but two leucistic trumpeter swans among the large group of swans. According to a fellow hunter/photographer friend who did some research after I posted images of one leucistic swan last week, this gene difference is quite rare in swans. According to the Trumpeter Swan Society, they have tracked down specific populations of swans with the leucistic characteristics in Rocky Mountain and Ontario birds (Ontario obtained an egg or eggs from the Rocky Mountain birds). I would be very surprised if the local population of swans has any connection to the Rocky Mountain or Ontario birds, but who knows!

Yellow/orange legs or black legs, trumpeter swans are beautiful birds as these images show.

Two Leucistic Swans in Winter - Image 785113

Trumpeter Swans in Winter - Image 785043

Later today I drove past a sizable group of snow buntings. I was not able to approach too close, but did move within range for a few photos to show the variations in these pretty little birds.

Snow Buntings - Image 785980