Man the final stages of fall migration have set in. Today on my eagle survey I had a flock of tundra swans fly over me. It was really cool because the were headed towards the Mississippi River and I realized that chances were good that the would be included on my aerial waterfowl surveys next week.
There are still plenty of eastern bluebirds around and I find it amazing that I can see the above bird in the field and take a photo and send it to the blog all via the iPhone.
Wow, pretty impressive shot using your iPhone…very cool.
In response to an earlier blog post also with a bluebird and wooly bear, I watched a Black-capped chickadee with a wooly bear this morning. It was plucking it like an accipiter with a songbird. Compared to a chickadee those caterpillars are huge!
An entire flock of swans overhead, there is white against a blue sky I would love seeing!
I love someone who says a chickadee was “pluck it like an accipiter with a songbird.”
Wondering how from that distance one can tell the difference between a Trumpeter and Tundra Swan. Not doubting you. Just trying to figure out this birding thing.
Brian–that is an excellent question. I just brought that up in a program at MN Audubon about that on Saturday. The bottom line is that we can’t. However, in pools 6 and 7 when we are getting thousands of swans, it’s going to be Tundra–it’s a traditional staging ground for them in November.
I do make notes in Pools 2 through 4 that small groups of swans are mostly likely Trumpeters.