Success

After watching this pair of swans fail at a nest year after year, it was nice to see them finally succeed. In the years that followed they had as many as 7 signets   in one year. Then one year they didn't return.

Wet Nests

These geese must be new at nests. Side by side they sat in the middle of the bog at Indiana Dunes with barely an inch above the water line. This weekend's snow will surely wash out the nests and hopefully they'll learn to do better next time.

I've seen Swans do the same thing---with a  drowned out nest or two but eventually come back and have a successful nest with as much as seven signets.

One is the loneliest number.....

Five years ago when I discovered the swans on a pond at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, there were a pair trying to start a family.

Over the years I watched the pair lose nest after nest to predators and flooding. But through trial and error they finally successfully raised first two chicks, and then last year, they raised six, although I can't verify if all the little ones made it to adulthood.

Swans are not solitary creatures. You always see them in pairs and they mate for life. While nesting, mom sits on the nest and Dad chases predators and other birds and animals away.

This year there is just one solitary swan; a lonely sight. I can't tell if it is one of the pair or a baby returning to it's home site. I hope it's the later and that he (or she) finds a mate soon.  

Birth Announcement

A pair of swans residing at Kingsbury Fish and Wildlife Area are the proud parents of four little swans.

The family was seen parading through the wetland recently.

In lieu of birthday presents it is requested that you support a wetland near you.