It gets crowded when most of the wetland is frozen.
A smaller open-water spot. I noted that most of the swans went for a drink of water on landing.
While swans prefer aquatic vegetation, they will forage on livestock fields when wetlands are frozen over. On the mainland, Trumpeter and Tundra swans forage mainly in the muddy fields of the Skagit River delta alongside Snow Geese — evidently agriculture leaves more food behind than grazing cattle/sheep/goats.
December 18, 2016:
Temperature: 34º-42ºF (average 34º-43ºF)
Snowing earlier, but the frozen snow and ice surface shows slushy areas.
Ducks occupy the wetland’s watery areas until swans show up in numbers. Those are mallards, wigeons, pintails, green-winged teals and buffleheads mostly.
December 19, 2016:
Temperature: 39º-46ºF (average 34º-43ºF)
Raining
It looks liquid all over doesn’t it?
A pair of adults with one juvenile fly in....
….and get a surprise.
Sliding…...
….to a stop, with some WTF trumpeting commentary. While spectacular, an awkward landing on a hard surface like this can be dangerous, especially when they are expecting water. Fortunately these birds looked fine once they got their bearings.
The youngster (grey plumage) appeared to be trying for a drink of water. There’s a thin layer of rainwater over ice.
The family regrouped....
….and carefully made their way toward the patch of open water, with varying levels of skill.
December 22, 2016:
Temperature 37º-46ºF (average 34º-43ºF)
Rained earlier, overcast in the afternoon.
It had been above freezing for a few days. See how the swans are spread all over the wetland.
A closer look shows a thin scrim of ice persisting but the swans were foraging steadily where the surface was open.
For the next two weeks I was away from the marsh. Weather records said there were a few days with lows in the 20s but then above freezing even at night for a week. We returned just as another cold snap began.
January 4, 2017:
Temperature 25º-39ºF (average 35º-43ºF)
Sunny and windy, a Northeasterly wind was blowing Arctic air through the Fraser River canyon gap, into the maritime NW
Darker blue is water, lighter blue is ice. The swans have gathered at a series of interlocking pools, paddling from one to another via narrow channels. All that paddling probably helps keep some areas ice-free when the temperature is marginal like this.
Sometimes they get out to groom, and then very gracefully step back into the water. Everything a swan does looks graceful to me.
I’ve been watching a particular family with four juveniles this year, who I’ve seen in various parts of the island. More youngsters this year than I’ve seen in earlier years. That big family is single-filing down a channel to the next pool.
Swans come and go all day. Several arrived during the half hour I was watching.
These very deliberately landed in the pool of water rather than on the ice. A water landing is safer.
One swan departed, taking off from the ice. I guess the ice was rough enough to provide friction.
Cornell Ornithology says they need a 100-yard open runway to get airborne, starting with a run across water, land or ice. They often take off into the wind, like airplanes do, to get the most effective lift. This one did, heading NE. Bodies of water are safest since swans are less likely to collide with power lines.
Yesterday it warmed up and I was hopeful the ice would melt, but the marsh was covered with persistent ice, and today it’s getting cold again. There were no swans on the wetland yesterday. I assume they’ve departed for a better feeding site — and I really hope they find adequate food somewhere. If it ever warms up again this winter, they may return to Otto’s Marsh.
Any unusual weather in your part of the world? Seeing wildlife stressed by cold?
Time for you to share what you’re seeing in your natural neighborhood . . .