We were out looking to find not the elusive male wood duck but this time eagles and ospreys… oh heck! Let’s be honest here, we were looking to find any birds we could to photograph and if they happened to be some we’ve never captured before then even better.
We went to a spot recommended by a birder friend who captures some amazing bird photos by kayaking in the water. He said that by gliding slowly and low he is less likely to startle them. But anyway, at this spot we found this beautiful graceful pair. When I relayed this to my kayak friend later he said he’d never seen them there before.
Score one for me!
They did seem a bit out of place at Mud Hen Marsh but none the less gorgeous. Swans mate for life and supposedly if one dies the other perishes from a broken heart. How Romeo and Juliet of them. These are trumpeter swans (didn’t hear them trumpet or make any other sound) and for the first time I got to see swans flying; they are really big birds with a wingspan of 8 feet!
They had paddled to the far end of where we were stationed and were out of sight when something startled them I guess and with a loud flapping noise came flying past me and off to some other part of the marsh. When we walked towards the end of the water where they had come from all we saw was one very loud female mallard. I wonder if she started something…
Teri📷
(By the way… if you want to see and read about my first covered bridge, hop on over to What’s Happening Ohio!)
Images by T.Dashfield Photography 
Beautiful pair ❤️ Swans are such lovely, elegant and photogenic, but the sound they make …
They are gorgeous but I’ve never heard one before. Must be an interesting sound.
A good outing! I always get nervous bringing my camera in kayaks or canoes. The swans look beautiful.
I don’t even want to get into/on a kayak or canoe let alone photograph from one!!!!
Beautiful!
Thanks! They are 🙂