Good Day; Bad Spot

I have finally had an opportunity to film some swans in the last few days, which is something I have wanted to do for a couple of years. I was checking out a place I had never been to before and there were three Tundra Swans feeding in the shallows. They didn't stay long but I did get a few images of them taking off. They are such graceful birds and take-offs and landings are two of the moments I am highly interested in capturing.

Some waterfowl (which the Brits call "wildfowl") can take off directly from the water into the air. Swans, geese, and some ducks have to "walk" across the water to become airborne. Loons, having much denser bones than most birds, can take a couple hundred yards to get into the air!

Of the seven species of swan worldwide, three are seen in North America. One, the Mute Swan, is actually an introduced species. The Tundra Swan is the smallest of the swans, but still has a wing span of nearly six feet. They nest in the high Arctic and far northern reaches of Canada, so wintering here is like vacationing in Florida. Relatively speaking.