More Questions… A Not So Good Gut Feeling (and pretty pics)

For several weeks I have been keeping an eye on a trumpeter swan that may or may not have an issue. During several observations I have noticed the right wing appears abnormal. My first guess was the bird was just losing feathers. However, subsequent checks on the bird revealed the abnormal feathers had not changed much as the bird moved around in shallow water over several days. Compounding my concern was the fact that the bird was often alone and, when other swans were on the pond, the bird in question was frequently isolated.

Due to my own temporary health issues I have not been able approach close to the swan to check it. My only/best option has been aerial observations that do not seem to bother the birds.

Today when I checked the pond I did not find the bird in question. Two other pairs of swans were present, but not the unusual bird. Worse yet, I found a collection of white feathers - presumed to be swan feathers - in an area where the lone swan was often seen. Now the questions are coming - has something happened to the swan, was there anything wrong with the bird, was it injured or ill? What is the story here?

At this time I have no answers. It is possible the lone bird was hiding today, but if it was the bird was doing a great job. If the bird is still around, what is the story behind the collection of feathers? Am I imagining a glass “half-empty” story for these swans when really all is well. I am hoping time will tell.

Following are images recorded of the birds. Note - These are all cropped images. Due to water sometimes confusing the sensors on drones (resulting in water landings/crashes), I am not dropping too low to risk the drone or threaten the wildlife. With a 48MP camera, I am able to crop considerably when taking pictures from further away - as was done here.

This collection of pictures and thoughts does not need to with uncertainty. Instead, I am going to finish this post with images from my morning prairie walk. None of these seemed to have anything negative or questioning about them.

This final image features a snapping turtle Kristy and I moved off a highway so it would not get hit. This turtle was much less than happy to see us!