Ice Trumpets - In Mono

Yellowstone hardly seems like a place to escape a harsh winter. But that is preciously what Yellowstone National Park is for migrating flocks of Trumpeter Swans. Yellowstone does have a small resident population of Trumpeter Swans, but the numbers greatly increase during winter as these large swans migrate from as far north as the Alaska's arctic circle and the far reaches of the Yukon. (Some swans, arguably the smart ones, go as far south as Northern California and Utah) Trumpeter swans are easily the largest waterfowl species in North America. This bulk, however, becomes their Achilles heal as taking flight requires a 100 yard ‘runway’ of open water, or in this case frozen ice, in order to get their large frames airborne. Big, powerful and beautiful.

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Filename: YNP-44-IceTrumpets.jpg
Copyright: © 2021 Robert P Dotson
Image Size: 5422x3050 / 7.0MB; National Parks & Monuments North America Rocky Mountains Things United States Wyoming Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park animal animals art bad weather behavior bird birds black and white cold flying geography ice monochrome nasty weather natural nature photograph photography picture places seasons snow style survival swan swans trumpeter swan waterfowl weather west wildlife winter
Contained in galleries: Fine Art Wildlife

Yellowstone hardly seems like a place to escape a harsh winter. But that is preciously what Yellowstone National Park is for migrating flocks of Trumpeter Swans. Yellowstone does have a small resident population of Trumpeter Swans, but the numbers greatly increase during winter as these large swans migrate from as far north as the Alaska's arctic circle and the far reaches of the Yukon. (Some swans, arguably the smart ones, go as far south as Northern California and Utah) Trumpeter swans are easily the largest waterfowl species in North America. This bulk, however, becomes their Achilles heal as taking flight requires a 100 yard ‘runway’ of open water, or in this case frozen ice, in order to get their large frames airborne. Big, powerful and beautiful.