[2023-05-30] Trumpeter swan
After hiking at Old Quarry Trail in Kanata yesterday, Chris and I returned to our first love (Bruce Pit) and our new love (Rice Lake). As we were doing the short jaunt between the Bruce Pit parking lot and the trail that leads to the path that encircles Rice Lake, I looked out at the pond and said to Chris, "What's that?" I could see something sticking out of the water—something I had never noticed before at the north end of the pond.
Suddenly, the object shifted, and out of the water emerged a gorgeous white bird. At first, I wondered whether it might be the egret that frequents the south side of the pond, where I have often seen it on the beaver huts near the nesting geese. "I think it's the swan," I said excitedly.
Ever since Chris and I started walking the path around Rice Lake, we've run into fellow birders. On several occasions, we met one woman told us of the various birds she had photographed (she had a professional camera). But one bird that had eluded her was the trumpeter swan that was reputed to hang out at the north end of the pond. She had come at different times of the day, hoping to get a glimpse of this majestic bird.
So when Chris and I saw the beautiful white bird on the water early this morning, we thought that maybe we had found the famed trumpeter swan. Equipped merely with my phone, which was capable of capturing only a blurry shape when zoomed in on the bird, we decided to return to the car to grab Chris' binoculars. When we got back to our observation spot, our lovely lady was still there. "You go first," Chris said, offering me the binoculars. "It's your bird." We took turns looking through the binoculars, convinced that what we were looking at was, indeed, a swan.
The next challenge was getting closer so as to get a better shot of the bird. I decided to run back towards the parking lot then down the toboggan hill to the side of the water, or at least to where the marshes begin beside the water. I managed to capture the top photo below. It was close enough and clear enough for the Merlin app to return a single match: trumpeter swan. I was thrilled to click on the button within the app that says, "This Is My Bird!" Later, when I looked at the photos I had snapped, I was amazed to see a cygnet swimming next to its mother. The third shot captured the swan swimming peacefully, a perfect reflection of her in the water.
I then climbed back up the toboggan hill, jogged past the parking lot, ran along Cedarview Road and walked briskly up the path to the bridge overlooking the south end of the pond, where Chris was waiting for me. Not long after I rejoined Chris, he said, "She's coming this way." I managed to take a video of the swan flying south across the pond, then swooping around and returning to the north end of the water, before heading east toward the Ottawa River.
A few days ago, in response to my post on the Merlin app, a friend wrote to me: "I’ve been using the Merlin app for a couple of years now, and as you say, it truly is superb. I’ve pretty much given up trying to actually see the birds I’m hearing, but am quite satisfied just to hear them and know they are there." I agreed with him. However, after this morning's experience, I can say that it was an absolute joy to actually see the swan, especially as Merlin describes the trumpeter swan as a rare bird for this area. I only wish that I had been able to hear her as well as see her.
When I first published my post about Rice Lake (before downloading the Merlin app), I referred to the white bird in my photograph as a heron. A kind Jenesis reader pointed out that it was, in fact, an egret (I subsequently fixed my error). I truly hope that the experienced birders who read this post won't burst my bubble and tell me that the magnificent creature I saw today was not a trumpeter swan but actually some other bird. For now, I'm still smiling at my good luck.
