{"id":118007,"date":"2023-11-10T03:50:01","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T10:50:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=118007"},"modified":"2023-11-14T02:57:40","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T09:57:40","slug":"time-to-see-and-hear-tundra-swans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/11\/10\/time-to-see-and-hear-tundra-swans\/","title":{"rendered":"Time To See And Hear Tundra Swans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now is a great time to see and hear Tundra Swans from the marshes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I saw several large flocks of them yesterday from there.<\/p>\n

\"AutumnAutumn flock of Tundra Swans in flight \u2013 Nikon D500, f9, 1\/1250, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

From the auto tour route, I saw one large flock of swans lift off from the water in the distance. I tracked the large white birds with my eyes until I was able to pull over and take photos of them with the Promontory Mountains in the background. Even though the swans were miles away, I could hear their calls.<\/p>\n

The calls<\/span><\/a> of these Tundra Swans touches a wild, primal part of me that aches to take wing with these birds. To see what they see, to go where they go.<\/p>\n

During autumn, I have been able to take lovely images of these migrating swans from the refuge and Farmington Bay WMA. When I photographed this large flock of swans, they were flying south, and I wondered if they were heading to Farmington Bay WMA.<\/p>\n

Side Note:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I was surprised to see the mountainsides so green this late in the year. We did just go through a rainy, warmer than normal, week and that might be why.<\/p>\n

\"WinterWinter Tundra Swans in flight, February 7, 2018 \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/5000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I have had better luck taking closer photos of the Tundra Swans at Bear River MBR from late January until early April than I have during the fall. Earlier this year, when there was still snow and ice at the refuge, I had several days when photographing the swans was simply spectacular.<\/p>\n

Seeing the swans, listening to their calls, observing their behaviors, and capturing photos of these wild, white, winged creatures is a spiritual experience that I relish with every fiber of my being.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Tundra Swan photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now is a great time to see and hear Tundra Swans from the marshes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I saw several large flocks of them yesterday from there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":118000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,27,1148,158,26],"tags":[4004,970,4008,4431,4620,4052,4247,4122,4094,4069,2139,4059,6428,4528,4018,4628,3122,2117,2063,4095,373],"class_list":["post-118007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-tundra-swans","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-autumn","tag-box-elder-county","tag-cygnus-columbianus","tag-fall","tag-flight","tag-flock","tag-flying","tag-marsh","tag-mountains","tag-pair","tag-phragmites","tag-phrags","tag-promontory-mountains","tag-sky","tag-swan","tag-swans","tag-tundra-swan","tag-waterfowl","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/tundra-swan-flock-in-november-mia-mcpherson-7045.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-uHl","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":110686,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/03\/03\/big-beautiful-tundra-swans-of-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":118007,"position":0},"title":"Big & Beautiful: Tundra Swans of Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 3, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning I spent time with a flock of big, beautiful Tundra Swans at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I loved every moment that I had with the swans.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Seventy-six Tundra Swans and the Promontory Mountains, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/tundra-swan-adults-and-immature-76-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0865.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/tundra-swan-adults-and-immature-76-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0865.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/tundra-swan-adults-and-immature-76-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0865.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2019","format":false,"excerpt":"One year ago today I spent the morning focusing on and photographing the Tundra Swans and wetlands of Bear River MBR and I have to say that those birds and the marshes bring me such joy that I feel like I have to share them over and over.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tundra Swans in the marshes of Bear River MBR at dawn, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swans-dawn-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-8572.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swans-dawn-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-8572.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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The blue collar caught my eye and I took photos of the swan.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tundra Swan with U915 collar on the marsh of Bear River MBR, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/tundra-swan-adult-banded-u915-blue-collar-white-text-mia-mcpherson-0840.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/tundra-swan-adult-banded-u915-blue-collar-white-text-mia-mcpherson-0840.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/tundra-swan-adult-banded-u915-blue-collar-white-text-mia-mcpherson-0840.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/tundra-swan-adult-banded-u915-blue-collar-white-text-mia-mcpherson-0840.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":80995,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/03\/11\/swan-day-in-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":118007,"position":5},"title":"Swan Day in Utah – March 13, 2021","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 11, 2021","format":"chat","excerpt":"This Saturday, March 13th, is Swan Day here in Utah. It is a day to celebrate these large, white, beautiful birds that spend time here during the winter.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tundra Swans and winter sky, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swans-flight-cloudy-sky-mia-mcpherson-8371.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swans-flight-cloudy-sky-mia-mcpherson-8371.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swans-flight-cloudy-sky-mia-mcpherson-8371.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swans-flight-cloudy-sky-mia-mcpherson-8371.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}