The Builder on the Lake

Dec 2008

These trumpeter swans came to visit along with the snows of December. It is unusual for them to come this far south. Last year I saw only two, and just for one day. This year we started with two pair, but after a few days we counted as many as 26 at a time. Our friends on Ames Lake have seen them and I saw 6 in flight over Bellevue near Yarrow Bay just before Christmas.

The snow made it hard for other birds to find food, and easy for us to see the brown ones against the snow. Some of the unusual shore birds we spied were the Common Snipe, with about a 3″ long bill, and many Killdeer. I was also surprised to see two Snow Geese resting on our shore at night. By daylight they were gone and I have not seen any others since. Sorry the photo is not better. This is my first photo post, so I will work on it!

Dwight