I thought it was time to head up to the Horicon Marsh to see what was going on and glad I did. One of the highlights of the day was watching one Tumpeter Swan, then two along with the cygnets feed and paddle around. When the second adult joined the group, there appeared to be some great trumpet sounds, really, like welcome back to the family! The two adults stirred the bottom by paddling and brought probably up aquatic insects which is what they eat at this age. It was an exciting time watching these adult swans doing their routine feeding the young with no distractions. It was a beautiful day with mostly full sun and pleasant temps, winds were low in the morning. Images were taken on June 6, 2017.
The family…
Trumpeter Swan
Binomial name: Cygnus buccinator
Category: Ducks, Geese, and Swans
Size: 60” long, 80” wing span
Weight: 23 lb
Their necks are stained from feeding…
2nd adult joins the group, I hear trumpet like calling with each other…they were so glad to be together…:)
1st adult stretching here…
Cygnets feeding here with some fresh churned-up vegetation for aquatic insects…
Cygnets
Cygnets
Waiting for some fresh vegetation to dig through that the adult brought up from the bottom…
Both adults stirring the bottom by neck work under the water…
Cygnets feeding here with some fresh churned-up vegetation for aquatic insects…
Both adults stirring the bottom by neck work under the water…
Here the adult is paddling the bottom stirring up the vegetation…
Cygnets finding things to eat…
Beautiful!
Thank you for telling how they feed their young. Very interesting!
That is so interesting! I love how you explain everything. Thanks so much! Beautiful pictures!
Nature at it’s best. Thanks Jim..awesome pics.
Jim,
If this is the same family of swans that I saw a week ago, they are missing one. My wife and I counted seven Cygnets in the family. I still love your pictures
Wonderful pix! Thank you.
Wonderful photos Jim. I love the little ones.