Heaviest of the native North American birds, trumpeter swans arrive at their nesting grounds after a long flight, and circle the big pond once or twice before splashing down. Then, they’ll typically do a little socializing and a whole lot of preening. Finally, it’ll be time to get down to the business at hand, and if all goes well, there will soon be a string of fuzzy little cygnets trailing mama like the tail of a kite.

the trumpeter swan

can be summed up in two words:

big and beautiful

–Photos by me