Not too far from home, the Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary in West Alton, Missouri is hosting a very honored group that was once near extinction. A record number of 960 trumpeter swans was counted on January 24, 2014, a tremendous jump from 1991 when only five were sighted. We took a drive out to witness the swans in their winter habitat, near the Great Rivers Confluence (on one of the coldest days of the year!) and were rewarded with several great opportunities to photograph the magnificent birds. I sprinted to the shoreline for a couple of shots and the rest were taken from the warmth of the truck as we drove along the paved roads that encircle the ponds, marshes and wetlands.
Some of the graceful swans, along with rafts of ducks and an occasional goose, swam in the frigid open waters and many more rested on the far banks of ice. Bald eagles, usually the star of our January jaunts up the Great River Road, also patrolled the ponds and the river for breakfast, and we spotted many more perched high up in the bluffs later in the morning. Altogether it was a thrilling trip that rewarded these amateur birders/wildlife enthusiasts with some fowl memories and lots of beautiful photographs!
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