YELLOWSTONE'S WILD WORLD

When we were in the Tetons recently we made a special attempt to find trumpeter swans. We used to find breeding trumpeters in Yellowstone. There was always a pair near the bridge half way between Madison Junction and West Yellowstone on the Madison River and a pair on a pond in Little America. Many of the ponds in the Lamar Valley dry up during the summer now so they don’t nest in Little America anymore and we haven’t seen them for years on the Madison.

They can still be found on the elk refuge near the Visitor’s Center in Jackson and on Boyle’s Pond on the south side of Jackson.

Trumpeter Swans are the largest bird in North America and are very close to being the largest flying bird in the world. Kori bustards in Africa are usually a little heavier but they don’t fly nearly as often as trumpeters do.

On our last trip to the Tetons and Jackson fall was in the air and many birds had already left to go south. Some of the swans in Boyle’s Pond have their wings clipped so they stay there and produce new swans every year. There were also some full grown cygnets. You can tell the difference between them and the adults as they are gray and their bills have some pink color.

But some of the swans that were there on our last visit were wild. In fact we saw four flying in within 10 minutes after we got there. The residents must not have like the new arrivals because there were a number of fights and lots of name calling. In fact I am pretty sure I heard more swans calling that day than in all of the rest of my life combined. Although that isn’t saying much because I haven’t heard them call that often. And I have never seen a swan fight. So that was pretty neat. (I promise I wouldn’t think that if any of them got hurt, but I am pretty sure they didn’t.)

Our photos are available at www.vernelehmberg.com.