Low-slung stratus clouds filter storm light in a wild sky that floats above the Illinois River. Waterfowl fill the air. Their calls animate the landscape; a cacophony of Greater white-fronted geese is punctuated by deep, resonant honks emanating from above. It is early January, and swans have arrived.
This begins so poetically that I almost find others’ pietry unnecessary. But I do appreciate what you found for us!!!
The trumpeteer swan must be somewhat bigger than our two species of swan in Denmark. It reminds me of ‘The Ugly Duckling’ by our national author, Hans Christian Andersen.
Once, during summer, I watched how a male swan defended his wife and offspring against some human canoeing people. 🦢
Thanks for this lovely tribute to a graceful creature. I’ve only observed mute swans here in the Pine Barrens, but we had a very dramatic newcomer who was attacking a mated pair. A birdwatcher told me it had also gone after cars and dogs, and the rangers were trying to capture it for its own safety. I managed to catch some of its behavior on video.
Your photos and words evoke decades old memories of first seeing (then still very uncommon) trumpeter swan pairs, on the lakes of the Yellowstone country and the headwaters of the Snake River. I see that recently 300 trumpeter swans were recorded in one wildlife refuge along the upper Green River, partially due to captive breeding/release programs incentivized by the Endangered Species Act provisions.
Thanks for this deeply personal and encouraging reminder of what can be accomplished by concerted, continuing efforts to rebuild some of what is almost destroyed.
There are a pair of swans that frequent a river by a canoe launch near me. I love sitting on the bank and just observing while they preen at the shore. As they float away, they always gift me the best angel feathers. ❤️
(Did you know that in Australia, we don’t have white swans, we only have black ones? I’m in awe of white swans. They simply don’t seem possible. So beautiful.)
Oh how nice it is to be standing in awe of nature, in a place where humans are the minority .
Those of us who can step into wilderness must never take it for granted.
Thank you Bill (and Virginia Woolf ) for reminding us to never forget to lift our eyes to the sky and look near and far , and don’t forget to look below .
Wouldn’t want to miss a thing.
“a white cross streaming across
the sky “ Look up at the nighttime sky for Cygnus the Swan . Also known as
Absolutely stunning. Look at those snow geese! Your photos, your writing, the nods to other writers, Mary Oliver's Swan, a beautiful declaration of love, honouring those big white birds and their world – the skies.
Perhaps it's not so unbelievable that there are two ceremonial positions devoted to the swans in England-- the Warden of the Swans and the Marker of the Swans, responsible for an annual counting of these glorious creatures.
Thank you!
This begins so poetically that I almost find others’ pietry unnecessary. But I do appreciate what you found for us!!!
The trumpeteer swan must be somewhat bigger than our two species of swan in Denmark. It reminds me of ‘The Ugly Duckling’ by our national author, Hans Christian Andersen.
Once, during summer, I watched how a male swan defended his wife and offspring against some human canoeing people. 🦢
Thanks for this lovely tribute to a graceful creature. I’ve only observed mute swans here in the Pine Barrens, but we had a very dramatic newcomer who was attacking a mated pair. A birdwatcher told me it had also gone after cars and dogs, and the rangers were trying to capture it for its own safety. I managed to catch some of its behavior on video.
https://thomaspluck.substack.com/p/the-savage-swan-of-thundergust-lake
Your photos and words evoke decades old memories of first seeing (then still very uncommon) trumpeter swan pairs, on the lakes of the Yellowstone country and the headwaters of the Snake River. I see that recently 300 trumpeter swans were recorded in one wildlife refuge along the upper Green River, partially due to captive breeding/release programs incentivized by the Endangered Species Act provisions.
Thanks for this deeply personal and encouraging reminder of what can be accomplished by concerted, continuing efforts to rebuild some of what is almost destroyed.
Beautifully written! I've just become a subscriber!
Yes! This is what we need more of! Thank you so much.
Love the post and the swan pictures.
There are a pair of swans that frequent a river by a canoe launch near me. I love sitting on the bank and just observing while they preen at the shore. As they float away, they always gift me the best angel feathers. ❤️
A lovely post. Thanks, Bill. Perhaps more so than any other birds, when a swan flies near I can feel its wing beats in my bones and in my gut.
So. Many. Birds!!!
(Did you know that in Australia, we don’t have white swans, we only have black ones? I’m in awe of white swans. They simply don’t seem possible. So beautiful.)
Thanks so much for another lovely post. 🤗🤗
Oh how nice it is to be standing in awe of nature, in a place where humans are the minority .
Those of us who can step into wilderness must never take it for granted.
Thank you Bill (and Virginia Woolf ) for reminding us to never forget to lift our eyes to the sky and look near and far , and don’t forget to look below .
Wouldn’t want to miss a thing.
“a white cross streaming across
the sky “ Look up at the nighttime sky for Cygnus the Swan . Also known as
“The Northern Cross”.
What beauty is for. Hell yes. Thank you, Mary Oliver, and thank you, Bill Davison.
Absolutely stunning. Look at those snow geese! Your photos, your writing, the nods to other writers, Mary Oliver's Swan, a beautiful declaration of love, honouring those big white birds and their world – the skies.
Poetry, not pietry
Perhaps it's not so unbelievable that there are two ceremonial positions devoted to the swans in England-- the Warden of the Swans and the Marker of the Swans, responsible for an annual counting of these glorious creatures.