{"id":61881,"date":"2019-12-04T05:43:47","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T12:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=61881"},"modified":"2024-02-22T07:58:05","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T14:58:05","slug":"visions-of-tundra-swans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/12\/04\/visions-of-tundra-swans\/","title":{"rendered":"Visions Of Tundra Swans"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-121779 size-full\" title=\"Adult and immature Tundra Swans in flight with a cloudy sky behind them\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swans-flight-cloudy-sky-mia-mcpherson-8364.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swans-flight-cloudy-sky-mia-mcpherson-8364.jpg\" alt=\"Adult and immature Tundra Swans in flight with a cloudy sky behind them, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah\" width=\"900\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27544%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20544%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27544%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swans-flight-cloudy-sky-mia-mcpherson-8364-200x121.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swans-flight-cloudy-sky-mia-mcpherson-8364-250x151.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swans-flight-cloudy-sky-mia-mcpherson-8364-300x181.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swans-flight-cloudy-sky-mia-mcpherson-8364-400x242.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swans-flight-cloudy-sky-mia-mcpherson-8364-600x363.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swans-flight-cloudy-sky-mia-mcpherson-8364-768x464.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swans-flight-cloudy-sky-mia-mcpherson-8364-800x484.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swans-flight-cloudy-sky-mia-mcpherson-8364.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Adult and immature Tundra Swans in flight with a cloudy sky behind them \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve seen Tundra Swans from a distance at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge recently but I haven&#8217;t had a chance to see them close enough to get photos like the one above. The swan on the right is an adult, the swan on the left is immature which is indicated by the lack of the yellow loral spot plus the smudgy, grayish head and neck.<\/p>\n<p><em>Note: Not all adult Tundra Swans have a pronounced or even visible yellow loral spot.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>One of the things I love most about having the Tundra Swans in northern Utah is hearing them. As their calls echo over the marsh I often forget about my troubles and the problems in our country and while I listen to them I feel at peace. Have a listen to a flock of Tundra Swans calling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xeno-canto.org\/135447\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>These two Tundra Swans had taken off from the marsh and flew in front of me with a cloudy sky in the background.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-121780 size-full\" title=\"Calling Tundra Swan flying over the marsh\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swan-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-9243.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swan-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-9243.jpg\" alt=\"Calling Tundra Swan flying over the marsh, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27600%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20600%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27600%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swan-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-9243-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swan-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-9243-250x167.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swan-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-9243-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swan-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-9243-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swan-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-9243-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swan-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-9243-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swan-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-9243-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swan-flight-marsh-mia-mcpherson-9243.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Calling Tundra Swan flying over the marsh \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Some of my favorite Tundra Swan images in my portfolio have snow covered mountains in the backgrounds of the photos plus a bit of the marshes of the refuge in them. I enjoy seeing the habitat I find and photograph my subjects in because it conveys a sense of place.<\/p>\n<p>I need to get to Bear River MBR soon because I have visions of Tundra Swans drifting through my mind and I&#8217;d love to see them in person on the marshes of the refuge again.<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/tundra-swan-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Tundra Swan photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I need to get to Bear River MBR soon because I have visions of Tundra Swans drifting through my mind and I&#8217;d love to see them in person on the marshes of the refuge again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":121779,"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":[4004,4469,4431,4052,4122,4067,4094,4069,4628,3122,2117,2063,373],"class_list":["post-61881","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-cloudy-sky","tag-cygnus-columbianus","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-immature","tag-marsh","tag-mountains","tag-swan","tag-swans","tag-tundra-swan","tag-waterfowl","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/tundra-swans-flight-cloudy-sky-mia-mcpherson-8364.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-g65","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":110083,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/02\/07\/bear-river-mbr-winter-haven-for-tundra-swans\/","url_meta":{"origin":61881,"position":0},"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 &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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":110686,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/03\/03\/big-beautiful-tundra-swans-of-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":61881,"position":1},"title":"Big &#038; 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 &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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":[]},{"id":74811,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/10\/21\/tundra-swans-are-showing-up-in-northern-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":61881,"position":2},"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 &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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":61881,"position":3},"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 &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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":55606,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/01\/10\/adult-and-immature-tundra-swans-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":61881,"position":4},"title":"Adult And Immature Tundra Swans At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I am itching to get back out into the field and one of the places I am most excited to get back to is Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Box Elder County, Utah because of the Tundra Swans that I know are there.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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 flapping its wings, 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-marsh-mia-mcpherson-8486.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-marsh-mia-mcpherson-8486.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swan-immature-marsh-mia-mcpherson-8486.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swan-immature-marsh-mia-mcpherson-8486.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":61881,"position":5},"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 &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61881","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=61881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}