{"id":47905,"date":"2017-08-03T04:40:50","date_gmt":"2017-08-03T10:40:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=47905"},"modified":"2025-05-18T12:37:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T17:37:58","slug":"dreaming-of-tundra-swans-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/08\/03\/dreaming-of-tundra-swans-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"Dreaming of Tundra Swans & Winter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"LandingLanding Tundra Swans – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 640, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Dreaming of Tundra Swans<\/h2>\n

We are having another heat wave here in northern Utah with temps hovering at or going above 100\u00b0F and our air quality is awful so I think about cooler days and winter birds at times to mentally “cool down”.<\/p>\n

Some Tundra Swans migrate from the arctic tundra using the Great Basin hub of the Pacific flyway and huge flocks of them spend the winter here. I see them most often at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and Farmington Bay WMA. Other Tundra Swans migrate to the eastern and western coasts.<\/p>\n

Their calls ring out in the cooler air and they can be heard from long distances whether they are flying overhead, on the ground or on the water. When I think of Tundra Swans I think of ice, snow, cold air and the sound of thousands of them in the marshes.<\/p>\n

People also call this species Whistling Swan or Whistlers because of the whistling sound their wings make in flight and their whistling calls. I hope to record the calls of thousands of these birds this winter because none of the recordings I have found so far really capture what I hear in the winter here.<\/p>\n

I took the photo above at Bear River Migratory Bird refuge in March of this year not long before the swans started on their migration to the arctic tundra to breed, nest and rear their young. Two of the birds flew in to land in the frigid water among the others who were feeding.<\/p>\n

In the interest of full disclosure I did remove a partial swan body from the left side of the frame that I found distracting during post processing.<\/p>\n

These large white birds will always make me think of colder days even when I view them on the hottest days of summer.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Some Tundra Swans migrate from the arctic tundra using the Great Basin hub of the Pacific flyway and huge flocks of them spend the winter here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":144727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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":[4004,4431,4040,4052,4122,4123,4094,4628,3122,2994,3996,2063,4095,6016,6015,373],"class_list":["post-47905","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-cygnus-columbianus","tag-feeding","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-landing","tag-marsh","tag-swan","tag-swans","tag-tundra-swans","tag-water","tag-waterfowl","tag-wetlands","tag-whistlers","tag-whistling-swan","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swans-landing-mia-mcpherson-6423.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-csF","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":124934,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/20\/last-day-of-winter-tundra-swans\/","url_meta":{"origin":47905,"position":0},"title":"Last Day Of Winter Tundra Swans","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"When I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on the last day of winter, I decided to take a video of some of the Tundra Swans I found on the auto tour loop.","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 on the last day of winter, 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-last-day-of-winter-mia-mcpherson-0892.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-last-day-of-winter-mia-mcpherson-0892.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swan-last-day-of-winter-mia-mcpherson-0892.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swan-last-day-of-winter-mia-mcpherson-0892.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110083,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/02\/07\/bear-river-mbr-winter-haven-for-tundra-swans\/","url_meta":{"origin":47905,"position":1},"title":"Bear River MBR: Winter Haven For Tundra Swans","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I had hoped that this morning would be sunny so I could head to Bear River MBR to see, listen to, and photograph Tundra Swans on the marshes.","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 Swans in morning flight, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tundra-swans-adult-immature-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0177.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tundra-swans-adult-immature-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0177.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tundra-swans-adult-immature-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0177.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tundra-swans-adult-immature-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0177.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":118007,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/11\/10\/time-to-see-and-hear-tundra-swans\/","url_meta":{"origin":47905,"position":2},"title":"Time To See And Hear Tundra Swans","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","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":"Autumn flock of Tundra Swans in flight, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/tundra-swan-flock-in-november-mia-mcpherson-7045.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/tundra-swan-flock-in-november-mia-mcpherson-7045.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/tundra-swan-flock-in-november-mia-mcpherson-7045.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/tundra-swan-flock-in-november-mia-mcpherson-7045.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":120623,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/02\/07\/tundra-swans-and-precious-memories\/","url_meta":{"origin":47905,"position":3},"title":"Tundra Swans And Precious Memories","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Tundra Swans and memories are on my mind this morning. Six years ago, I sat in my Jeep watching hundreds of Tundra Swans at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.","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 and adult Tundra Swans flying over the wetlands at Bear River MBR, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swans-flight-february-7-2018-mia-mcpherson-0182.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swans-flight-february-7-2018-mia-mcpherson-0182.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swans-flight-february-7-2018-mia-mcpherson-0182.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swans-flight-february-7-2018-mia-mcpherson-0182.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42696,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/10\/18\/waiting-for-the-impending-arrival-of-tundra-swans-in-northern-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":47905,"position":4},"title":"Waiting For The Impending Arrival of Tundra Swans in Northern Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge hosts up to 13,000 Tundra Swans during November through December where they utilize the freshwater wetland habitats on the refuge.","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":"Four Tundra Swans in flight, 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-mia-mcpherson-8266.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-mia-mcpherson-8266.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swans-flight-mia-mcpherson-8266.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swans-flight-mia-mcpherson-8266.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110686,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/03\/03\/big-beautiful-tundra-swans-of-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":47905,"position":5},"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, 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=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47905","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=47905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}