TUNDRA SWANS!

Tundra Swan

Copyright William L. Newton

My Canadian friend, Patti, of the Famous Fabric Sluts, has a fantastic post about the Tundra Swans arriving at Lake Erie! Please check out her blog - Island of Souls - and give yourself a treat! I've never been fortunate enough to see a tundra swan, so I looked them up. The photo and data are from Cornell Lab of Ornithology - NOT my camera or my brain.

"True to its name, the Tundra Swan breeds on the high tundra across the top of North America. It winters in large flocks along both coasts, and is frequently encountered during its migration across the continent."

Cool Tundra Swan Facts from Cornell:

"The whistling swan, the American race of the Tundra Swan, currently is considered the same species as the Eurasian race, the Bewick's swan. They were considered separate species in the past, distinguished by the large yellow patches on the face of the Bewick's swan.
During the breeding season the Tundra Swan sleeps almost entirely on land, but in the winter it sleeps more often on water."

"Swan nests on the tundra are vulnerable to a host of predators, such as foxes, weasels, jaegers, and gulls. If the parents are present, they are able to defend the nest and nestlings from these threats. Wolves, people, and bears, however, are too big to fight, and most incubating swans leave their nests while these large predators are far away. By leaving quickly when large predators approach, the parents may make the nest harder to find."

"The Tundra Swan stays in flocks except when on a breeding territory. Although most swans spread out to breed, a large proportion of the population on the breeding grounds still can be found in flocks. These swans are not breeding, and may be young birds that have not yet bred, adult pairs whose breeding attempts failed, or adults that bred in the past but for some reason do not in that year."

Thanks Cornell, and thanks Mr. Newton. To read more click on the Cornell link to the Tundra Swan page.

We are all properly educated now before we vicariously live this experience through Patti and her photo friends! I, for one, am looking forward to this!!! Thanks, Patti!