{"id":80995,"date":"2021-03-11T06:24:51","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T13:24:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=80995"},"modified":"2025-05-18T18:50:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T23:50:34","slug":"swan-day-in-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/03\/11\/swan-day-in-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"Swan Day in Utah – March 13, 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SidelitSidelit Tundra Swan on ice – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

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. In a normal year there would be in person activities planned at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> near Brigham City, the George S. and Dolores Dor\u00e9 Eccles Wildlife Education Center<\/span> <\/a>at Farmington Bay WMA, and the Salt Creek Waterfowl Management Area<\/span><\/a> near Corrine.<\/p>\n

Because of the pandemic no in person activities of been planned however if you are on Facebook Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> has some fun and educational virtual activities planned for the day starting at 10 a.m. Mountain Time.<\/p>\n

\"RestingResting Tundra Swans and snow tipped mountains- Nikon D810, f9, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 170mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

A drive out to the auto tour route of Bear River MBR where the swans can be seen in the marshes is always a delight. This Saturday is supposed to be partly cloudy at the refuge with day time temps reaching a high of 50\u00b0F. The views of thousands of swans can be spectacular and the scenery isn’t bad either.<\/p>\n

\"TundraTundra Swan pair and an icy marsh- Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The Tundra Swans can be found in many locations next to the auto tour route. The swans can be skittish so I photograph them by using a vehicle as a mobile blind to minimize disturbances. They are used to vehicles but people on foot can make them lift off. I recommend staying in your vehicle if there are other people around, if you scare off the swans those people might not be too happy.<\/p>\n

\"TundraTundra Swans taking flight from an icy marsh- Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/5000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The swans can be heard at times before they are seen. Seeing the swans resting, feeding, squabbling, preening, and taking flight is a treat.<\/p>\n

\"TundraTundra Swans and winter sky – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Tundra Swans are the swans we see most here in northern Utah but Trumpeters Swans show up every year in lower numbers.<\/p>\n

If you want to see the swans I recommend you visit one of the areas I mentioned above because they will soon be on the wing to their breeding grounds.<\/p>\n

Life is good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Tundra Swan photos and here<\/span><\/a> for Trumpeter Swans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":144892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"chat","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":[4004,4431,4052,4122,4064,6241,4094,4069,2139,4528,4156,4387,4018,4628,11113,3122,2117,2063,373],"class_list":["post-80995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-chat","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-flight","tag-flying","tag-ice","tag-icy","tag-marsh","tag-mountains","tag-pair","tag-promontory-mountains","tag-resting","tag-sidelit","tag-sky","tag-swan","tag-swan-day","tag-swans","tag-tundra-swan","tag-waterfowl","tag-winter","post_format-post-format-chat"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swans-flight-cloudy-sky-mia-mcpherson-8371.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-l4n","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":80995,"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":110686,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/03\/03\/big-beautiful-tundra-swans-of-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":80995,"position":1},"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. 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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, 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