Touchdown... [read]

A pair of Tundra Swans, arrive in a flooded rice field in California's Sacramento Valley. They will winter there before returning to their breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra. They are one of only two North American species of swans, the other being the Trumpeter Swan.

 

Originally, rice farmers would burn their harvested fields readying them for the next year's planting. It was found that flooding them did the job efficiently while providing a wintering ground for migrating waterfowl. It has also brought another source of income to the area with all the birder's and photographers who flock there (sorry, couldn't help myself).

 

Tundra Swans are have all white feathers, but once they start grazing in these shallow waters, their breasts, necks and heads quickly develop a russet stain from the underlining mud and decaying vegetation.

 

The American race of Tundra Swans, referred to as Whistling Swans from their calls, have solid black bills or black with a small patch of yellow below the eye; the Eurasian race of Tundra Swan, or Bewick's, have a much larger, distinctive yellow patch. Both races are found together in these large, wintering areas and are considered the same species although they once were thought to be separate species.

Done