{"id":140984,"date":"2025-03-01T04:10:55","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T10:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=140984"},"modified":"2025-03-01T04:10:55","modified_gmt":"2025-03-01T10:10:55","slug":"tundra-swan-portrait-bear-river-mbr-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/03\/01\/tundra-swan-portrait-bear-river-mbr-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"Tundra Swan Portrait – Bear River MBR, Utah"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, I’m sharing a simple Tundra Swan portrait taken almost two years ago on a bright winter day at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> in northern Utah.<\/p>\n

\"TundraTundra Swan portrait\u2013 Nikon D500, f11, 1\/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve searched for Tundra and Trumpeter Swans all winter in Arkansas and Oklahoma without finding any. They’re not as common here as they were in northern Utah.<\/p>\n

One day, I thought I saw one fly over at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. When the possible swan landed in a cornfield, it was so far away and mixed in with Snow Geese that, with heat waves rising off the field, I just couldn\u2019t be sure it was even a swan.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve missed the calls of the swans I used to hear in Utah, but thankfully, the overwintering Snow Geese here have taken their place.<\/p>\n

Listening to the calls<\/span><\/a> of hundreds of Snow Geese flying overhead is an auditory delight.<\/p>\n

By this time of year, both the swans in Utah and the Snow Geese here are starting to thin out as they follow their natural rhythms and begin their long journeys north to their breeding grounds. Spring is on the way, after all.<\/p>\n

These big white waterfowl have always been a joy to me.<\/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":"

Today, I’m sharing a simple Tundra Swan portrait taken almost two years ago on a bright winter day at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in northern Utah.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,13973,13974,158],"tags":[4004,4142,4431,4064,4094,4046,4050,4628,3122,2117,2063,4095,373],"class_list":["post-140984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-oklahoma","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","category-tundra-swans","tag-adult","tag-close-up","tag-cygnus-columbianus","tag-ice","tag-marsh","tag-portrait","tag-snow","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\/2025\/03\/tundra-swan-portrait-utah-mia-mcpherson-4922.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-AFW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":123293,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/09\/today-is-utahs-swan-day-for-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":140984,"position":0},"title":"Today Is Utah’s Swan Day For 2024","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Today is March 9th, and it is Utah's Swan Day 2024! The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto tour loop is a terrific place to see these lovely white 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":"Winter Tundra Swan portrait, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swan-solitary-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-4967.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-swan-solitary-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-4967.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swan-solitary-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-4967.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swan-solitary-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-4967.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51386,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/03\/26\/tundra-swans-of-bear-river-mbr-on-the-wing\/","url_meta":{"origin":140984,"position":1},"title":"Tundra Swans Of Bear River MBR On The Wing","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Seeing a few flocks of Tundra Swans in flight two days in northern Utah was a reminder that these big, white swans have already begun their migration to their breeding grounds on the tundra of northern Canada and Alaska.","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 flying east over the marsh at Bear River, 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-east-mia-mcpherson-8658.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-east-mia-mcpherson-8658.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swans-flight-east-mia-mcpherson-8658.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swans-flight-east-mia-mcpherson-8658.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":121635,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/02\/21\/tundra-swan-trumpeter-swan-comparison\/","url_meta":{"origin":140984,"position":2},"title":"Tundra Swan – Trumpeter Swan Comparison","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 21, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I hope this comparison helps anyone who might be struggling with Trumpeter Swan and Tundra Swan identification in the field or when they are looking at their own photos.","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 and Trumpeter Swan portrait composite image, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/trumpeter-and-tundra-swan-comparison-mia-mcpherson-4374.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/trumpeter-and-tundra-swan-comparison-mia-mcpherson-4374.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/trumpeter-and-tundra-swan-comparison-mia-mcpherson-4374.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/trumpeter-and-tundra-swan-comparison-mia-mcpherson-4374.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":74811,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/10\/21\/tundra-swans-are-showing-up-in-northern-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":140984,"position":3},"title":"Tundra Swans Are Showing Up In Northern Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I can barely wait to hear and see my first of season Tundra Swans and to see them on the wing over the marshes that surround the Great Salt Lake.","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":"Adult and immature Tundra Swan fly by, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swan-adult-and-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-0178.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-swan-adult-and-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-0178.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swan-adult-and-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-0178.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swan-adult-and-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-0178.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53026,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/07\/09\/refreshing-winter-scenery-and-the-tundra-swans-of-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":140984,"position":4},"title":"Refreshing Winter Scenery and the Tundra Swans of Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Sometimes when the summer heat gets to me I look back at images I have taken during the winter and quite often I find those images to be taken at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the birds that I find there.","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":"Immature Tundra Swan in flight over Bear River MBR, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swan-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-0400.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-swan-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-0400.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swan-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-0400.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swan-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-0400.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":78571,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/01\/30\/adult-tundra-swan-on-the-wing\/","url_meta":{"origin":140984,"position":5},"title":"Adult Tundra Swan On The Wing","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been thinking that I need to hop into my Jeep and head to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge to photograph the Tundra Swans before they head north to breed and nest.","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":"Adult Tundra Swan on the wing, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swan-winter-sky-mia-mcpherson-9815.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-swan-winter-sky-mia-mcpherson-9815.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swan-winter-sky-mia-mcpherson-9815.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swan-winter-sky-mia-mcpherson-9815.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\/140984","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=140984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140984\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}