Seven Swans....Relaxing
Actually, it was more like seventy swans relaxing yesterday along Best Road in Skagit County, Washington. I had the 100-400 mm lens mounted on the camera. From where I stood, this forty or so was all I could fit in the frame at 100 mm. I spotted this group of Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) while heading home after hiking on Fir Island. Our mornings have been chilly since New Year's, with mostly sunny skies. It was only about 26° F (-2° C) at the time of these photos. That's frost on the grass adding a silvery tinge. Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) also visit this area in the winter. If you get a close look, the two species are easy to tell apart. The crown of the head on Trumpeters is flattened with the plane parallel to the beak. On Tundra Swans, the crown is more dome shaped. Tundras usually also have a spot of orange or yellow on the beak near the eye. The grayish birds are juveniles. They will turn wh...