North America's Swan

This is the Trumpeter Swan, the native swan of our lakes, rivers and wetlands - and it was hunted almost to extinction. Fortunately, conservation efforts have been spectacularly successful, and at least in this part of the world, Trumpeters are now common. I still can't see one though, without thinking how lucky we are to still have them. They are truly magnificent.

This pair regularly nest on a pond near our house. They raised 3 cygnets last year, and this year there are six. Somewhat disturbingly, they like to rest on the side of the road, as they are doing here, where they seem very vulnerable to passing traffic. They are on alert in the photo because a car has just driven past (I'm resting on the hood of my car a reasonable distance away).

And in case anyone is wondering - yes, they do trumpet, although they don't know any really good tunes.

NW Wisconsin