trumpeter swans

haines road, july 1, 2014

mendenhall landing, oct 5, 2014

alaska hwy (past champagne, towards haines jct.), oct 12, 2014

Birding spring 2014

Mary, Jane, John and I, went to the Takhini river, to see if some migratory birds arrived, on the Takhini river, which stays open at the mouth all winter.

The river wide open at the Takhini river campground, the road muddy.

There we spotted a winter resident the American Dipper.

On our next stop, John spotted two Bald Eagles who flew downstream where he and Jane did spot them again on our way back.

When we arrived at the mouth, so did the 

two Trumpeter Swans

they flew beneath us low over the water going to in the direction we were heading.

They greeted the 

Common Goldeneye 

( some of us counted two)

Then they swam on to greet the 

6 or 7 Mallard (pairs)

And from there they swam to the edge of the ice to feed.

we saw one small flock of  Bohemian Waxwings

Ring -necked Duck

Today, April 28, 2013  i went to the mouth of the Takhini river again.
And Mary pointed some Ring-necked Ducks out that i hadn't noticed yesterday.

Today swans (6)
ring-necked ducks
northern shovelers
barrow's goldeneyes
common goldeneyes
buffleheads
pintails
and down river a pair of mergansers

four swans arrived as we got there,
The two swans yesterday, had yellow/orange stained heads, compared to two pure white birds i saw here two weeks earlier.
Now the four new ones even stained darker then the two already there.
Apparently it is the where they come from, if they have been digging around in the mud in iron rich waters.

Trumpeter Swan