{"id":99817,"date":"2022-02-11T05:05:39","date_gmt":"2022-02-11T12:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=99817"},"modified":"2023-02-25T04:22:20","modified_gmt":"2023-02-25T11:22:20","slug":"february-tundra-swan-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/02\/11\/february-tundra-swan-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"February Tundra Swan Photos Plus Some Very Early Sandhill Cranes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AdultAdult Tundra Swan walking away \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/4000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Late last month I mentioned that I hadn’t yet gotten the Tundra Swan photos<\/span><\/a> that I wanted to take. Yesterday at Bear River MBR<\/span><\/a> I was delighted to remedy that situation. I came across four resting Tundra Swans on the snow covered ice close enough to the auto tour route to take frame filling images of them.<\/p>\n

\"TundraTundra Swan on a bright February morning \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/4000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The snow white feathers of the Tundra Swans looked stunning in the bright, clear morning light.<\/p>\n

\"TundraTundra Swan stink eye \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The four swans I photographed did not call while I had them in my viewfinder. I could hear other swans calling from a long way off as they made their way to their feeding grounds for the day.<\/p>\n

\"TundraTundra Swan adult on an icy marsh \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I was delighted to take frame filling images of these large, white swans now because they will be on the wing soon to their breeding grounds in the far north.<\/p>\n

\"PairPair of Tundra Swans walking away \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Regretfully my appearance in my Jeep did make the Tundra Swans a bit nervous. Instead of taking flight they walked away from the road and out onto the ice.<\/p>\n

\"PairPair of Tundra Swans resting on snow covered ice \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The swans didn’t walk far before they plopped their large bodies down onto the ice to rest some more.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Tundra Swan resting on snow covered ice \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I was relieved that some of the swans felt relaxed enough to rest some more despite my intrusion into their morning.<\/p>\n

\"WaryWary adult Tundra Swan on ice \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/2000, ISO 400, +0.3. EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the Tundra Swans was still wary of me though and stood on the ice watching as I took photos. I can’t say that I blame the swans for being nervous about me and my vehicle.<\/p>\n

\"AlertAlert Tundra Swan pair \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/2000, ISO 400, +0.3. EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I took over 500 photos of these four Tundra Swans yesterday and if I don’t take any more swan photos this winter I am more than satisfied. The time I spent with the swans in my viewfinder was very relaxing.<\/p>\n

\"FebruaryFebruary Sandhill Cranes in the marsh at Bear River MBR \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Before I found the Tundra Swans I was surprised and delighted to find a pair of very early Sandhill Cranes standing on the auto tour loop road. Usually I don’t see these cranes until early March but there they were in plain sight. As the cranes lifted off from the road they called and I relished hearing them. I do hope the cranes won’t nest too early. We can still get some nasty, frigid weather between now and spring.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Late last month I mentioned that I hadn’t yet gotten the Tundra Swan photos that I wanted to take. Yesterday at Bear River MBR I was delighted to remedy that situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99786,"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":[124,27,1148,450,158,26],"tags":[4004,4540,4259,3823,3132,4431,9393,4064,4094,4156,2326,4518,4050,4093,5670,4628,3122,2117,4236,6344,2063,4095,373],"class_list":["post-99817","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-sandhill-cranes","category-tundra-swans","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-alert","tag-antigone-canadensis","tag-crane","tag-cranes","tag-cygnus-columbianus","tag-early","tag-ice","tag-marsh","tag-resting","tag-road","tag-sandhill-crane","tag-snow","tag-snow-covered","tag-stink-eye","tag-swan","tag-swans","tag-tundra-swan","tag-walking","tag-wary","tag-waterfowl","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/tundra-swan-adult-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-0486.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-pXX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":50924,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/02\/10\/tundra-swans-at-home-in-the-landscape-of-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":99817,"position":0},"title":"Tundra Swans at Home in the Landscape of Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Tundra Swans are truly at home in the landscape of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and they belong there as much as the mountains, marshes, birds, animals, fish, sky and the clouds overhead do.","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 landscape of 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-landscape-mia-mcpherson-8703.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-landscape-mia-mcpherson-8703.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swans-landscape-mia-mcpherson-8703.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tundra-swans-landscape-mia-mcpherson-8703.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":99817,"position":1},"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. 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