January 4, 2011



Over the holiday I woke up one morning
to a picture in the paper
of Trumpeter swans.
Apparently,
they spend several migratory months during the winter
in and around the farm fields up north of my home.
So we got in the car and drove,
hoping we'd be lucky to at least catch a glimpse
of these beautiful birds.
We first spotted a group of 10 or so,
and turned up a hill to get closer.
When we came over the rise,
to our amazement we found
a field on the other side
full
of what seemed like 100 swans.
They rooted peacefully
in the field before us,
even as a looming storm
crested over them
in waves of rain and hailstones.

These photographs do no do them justice.

12 comments:

  1. Wow. These photos are so gorgeous.

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  2. Holy swans. That sky is looking pretty ferocious too, I might add.

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  3. The swans and the sky and the grass... just beautiful!

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  4. wow, that must have been such an amazing sight!

    xo
    sami

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  5. wow, so breath-taking! i've never seen so many swans before.

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  6. wow! this is amazing! Such wonderful pictures!

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  7. Aren't they amazing? I live up in the Skagit Valley, where you may have been to take these photos, and the funny thing about them is that they are outrageously loud at night! I hate to dispel the image of peacefulness, but when we walk outside at night, it's like a raucous bird party. They get all the other ones going too, and they fly in and out of the pond behind our property that was left by the recent floods, seemingly all night. It feels like hearing a neighbor's new years eve party across the alley.

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  8. my goodness gracious, your images are beautiful. I love all those little ducks. :)

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  9. Heather: Haha! I am so glad you shared this. I've always wondered how Skagit Valley residents (as yes, that is where these photos were taken) felt about their migratory visitors. I had no idea they were such characters!

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  10. I certainly wouldn't presume to speak for all SV residents, but I think so many of us love the way each season has it's own distinct visitors, whether that be the trumpeter swans, the corn fields, the many bald eagles, the snow, wind, or Skagit Valley sunshine. The color of the tulip fields in spring is just one small aspect of how pretty it is up there.

    Of course, I don't have a crop I need to protect, but even that has led to some really interesting things, like the falconers who have been hired by some of the people who have blueberry crops, or the rows of what almost look like wedding tents over the blackberries.

    Love your photos, by the way!

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  11. wow... stunning photos. the green and the grey. amazing.

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