Nature clicks #43 - Happy day for the Trumpeter Swans

Couple with cygnet  

I didn't make a single click during the last week. Shame on me, but a busy work schedule and a project at home prevented me from being behind the camera.

Today I just had to go out. I checked the pond at Mill Creek first. One Trumpeter Swan was sitting on the nest, while the other one was swimming on the pond. This gave me some hope that the female was maybe sitting on eggs. That was about 10 AM and I didn't know that I would find out about it just four hours later.

I moved on to the Green Island Wetlands, hoping to get a better view on the Moorhens that I saw a couple weeks ago. I heard their call but they were hiding in the reeds. A pair of Killdeer kept me busy for some time and I will show some pictures in another post this week.

I didn't expect much for my photography on the way home. The light was just harsh and awful but I always see some wildlife in the Mill Creek Valley. An that's why I went back to the swans again. And the big surprise was just waiting for me. Both swans were at the nest and there was something else… Oh yeah, a little cygnet was with them. What a great moment to witness! I had chosen the right day for another visit of the Trumpeter Swans. Did I say already the light was awful harsh? What the heck, I had to make some documentary shots…

Instead of going straight back home I went to the Hurstville Interpretive Center in Maquoketa and reported my discovery. Thank you to Ann at the interpretive center, who allowed me to take some close-up pictures of the Trumpeter Swans that they have in a protected area behind the building. The swan couple there was also taking care for a cygnet.