Trumpeter Swan

A beautiful warm, sunny day yesterday so I decided to go out to Esquimalt Lagoon again. I was lucky to find the resident Trumpeter Swan on the shore preening himself (or herself). That's the Trumpeter pictured above. To the left I've posted the photo of the Mute Swan I published a few days ago so that you can see the most distinguishing physical difference - the shape and color of the beak. They're both beautiful birds but unlike the Mute Swan the Trumpeter is a native North American bird. It is also slightly larger than the Mute Swan, a European species. In fact, the Trumpeter Swan is the "largest extant waterfowl on earth" according to Wikipedia.

Mute Swan

I went out to Esquimalt Lagoon yesterday to see what kinds of birds are wintering there. It was really a wonderful assortment - Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, Scaup, Mallards, Pintails, American Wigeons, Common Mergansers, lots of Seagulls and a flock of pigeons - but my favorite photo of the day is of one of the Mute Swans that live in the lagoon year round. While not an indigenous bird they have naturalized themselves many generations ago and are a pleasure to see.

Mute Swans

I was out at Esquimalt Lagoon a few days ago. It's a bird sanctuary and I was wondering what kind of birds were there at this time of year. I didn't see anything surprising but enjoyed these Mute Swans when they came swimming along the shore. Mute Swans are not indigenous and these are descended from escapees from Beacon Hill Park long ago. They have naturalized themselves at Esquimalt Lagoon and also at Albert Head Lagoon just a little further west along the coast.

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

Last week I posted a photo of a Trumpeter Swan, a species native to North America. Esquimalt Lagoon is also home to a flock of Mute Swans (Cygnus olor). While they are not native to North America they have naturalized themselves in the Esquimalt Lagoon (and also in neighboring Albert Head Lagoon) after some of their ancestors escaped from captivity in Beacon Hill Park. Mute Swans are not so large as Trumpeter Swans but the clearly distinguishing mark is that odd-shaped black lump on the upper half of their bright orange bill. The Trumpeter Swan has a pure black bill with no lump.

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)

While out at Esquimalt Lagoon the other day I noticed an impressively big swan among the other swans and ducks along the shoreline of the lagoon. It wasn't until I got home and had a good look at the photos I'd taken that I realized that this bird was not just bigger but was different in other ways from the Mute Swans that are usually seen around the lagoon. The bird above is a Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator), the largest native North American bird. It's only slightly larger than the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) but the latter is an introduced species that has escaped captivity and naturalized itself. I've included a photo of a Mute Swan on the left to show the differences in bill color and shape.

Swan at Witty's Lagoon

If you read the comments on yesterday's post and picture of the beach at Witty's Lagoon, there is a good description of the area by my friend, Dean Lewis. But when you're walking down from the road, before you get to the beach you walk around the lagoon. Above is a photo of one of the first views of the lagoon that you see on the trail.

Hatley Castle Autumn

I went out today bent on capturing some autumn color and I got enough for several days posts. I'll ease into it with a photo of a place we've seen before, back in June, Hatley Castle. That other photo was the opposite side of the castle. Here we see the seaward side of it from across Esquimalt Lagoon. And yes, that is a swan, a Mute Swan to be precise, one of a flock whose ancestors escaped from Beacon Hill Park in ages past.

Animals

Today I cycled out to Esquimalt Lagoon because I wanted to photograph some deer and I saw one near there when I was out at Fisgard Lighthouse a little while ago. Esquimalt Lagoon has an odd history: At the end of the last ice age about 10,000 years ago a big chunk of ice about 100 meters thick was left by a receding glacier. Sand and gravel piled up around its edges and when it melted it left a depression that is now the lagoon. The lagoon is also the site of the first European landing in this area. Spanish explorer Don Manuel Quimper anchored here in 1790. The birds in the photo above are the indigenous Great Blue Heron and...a Mute Swan. The latter is not indigenous but is native to the UK and has naturalized itself here and in a few other nearby coastal locations after escaping from Beacon Hill Park in Victoria. However, what first attracted my attention to the lagoon was the little fellow below.I thought it was a Sea Otter and had visions of how I could ramble on about the history of the fur trade but when I checked it out, I realize it must be a River Otter, which species often inhabits coastal areas and is a known resident of the lagoon. He was very shy and I had to follow him along the shoreline for some time before I could get close enough to snap the above shot. That was when I saw the other swan, below.Deer - yes, on the way back from the lagoon, there she was posing beautifully by the roadside and my camera in its bag. Pull up, peacefully assemble apparatus, and catch a last glimpse as she disappears into the bush. Ah well, still a splendid morning on the outskirts of Victoria.