Winter Day with a Cherry on Top!

120809: It was foggy this morning. Again. I called my dad and he had blue skies, but we were socked in. Again. I waited patiently all morning for the fog to break so that I could take some pictures of the Park with snow. It's so pretty with snow on a sparkling blue morning. Every once in a while I would step outside to check the lighting. Nope, not yet. BUT, I could hear something on the lake. I knew it was birds, but didn't know what kind. "Kloo, kloo, kloo," they were calling. But until I could see them I couldn't identify the kind of bird calling out through the fog.

Then I took a nap. God help me - I love the winter because I get to take naps!

When I awoke, I walked into the kitchen passing by the open blinds of our diningroom. I was looking at the now clear lake and could not conceive what I was seeing. I called hubby to come see. We pulled our woren Sibley Bird Guide out and confirmed that the birds I had been hearing were Tundra Swans. And let me tell you folks, there weren't just a few swans. I don't know the correct term for a grouping of swans, so I'll just say there were Sssssssswwwwwwaaaaaannnns. We estimate that there were probably 500 plus swans resting out on the water in the middle of the lake, maybe more. We thoroughly enjoyed being bird geeks for the next hour. We photographed them, recorded them and hubby broke out a high powered spotting scope to see them up close.

It was such a treat. And lucky us, it happened right in our backyard.

Three incoming.

So many (look closely) my wide angle could not capture them in one frame.

Close up of the Tundra Swans. There are also some American Coot (Mud Hens) behind.

At one point there were so many flying overhead I couldn't take them all in.

Late afternoon exodus.

Maybe we will see them tomorrow?



For audio purposes only - turn up your volume.