I’ve often seen geese here in both the spring and fall taking advantage of the shallow waters to rest up and roost between legs of their migration. One is a big, shallow slough near Lathom, just east of Bassano. And I knew of a couple of big ponds not far away where they might be. If there were that many geese here in this one field that likely meant that there were many, many more scattered around. Article content Snow geese, Canada geese and white-fronted geese in a field near Bassano, Ab., on Tuesday, October 13, 2020. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Photo by Mike Drew/PostmediaĪnd as I looked up toward the eagle I noticed more skeins of geese flying by. Tundra swans with this year’s cygnets near Gem, Ab., on Tuesday, October 13, 2020.
A brief panic ensued among them when a young bald eagle flew by. Out farther there were Canada geese, wigeons, mallards and a few pintails. A family group of them paddled along right in front of me - mom, dad, and five grey-feathered cygnets that were in no hurry. There were hundreds of swans scattered on the water, these ones nearly all tundra swans. I did see some trucks kicking up dust from the dirt trails by the lake so maybe the birds had taken off because of the disturbance.īut at another slough near Gem, I found lots of birds. There were a few coots and Canada geese but the big flocks of birds I’d expected just weren’t there. Wold Lake at the north end of Crawling Valley was uncharacteristically barren. But as I stopped to record some ambient sound on my phone, I heard the sound from the previous pond again. Two pelicans flew by nearly invisible in the light rain that was starting to fall. There were cormorants standing on an island of stones in one pond while on the other side of the road a blue heron perched on a fence rail. Trumpeter swans near Strathmore, Ab., on Tuesday, October 13, 2020. But it wasn’t until I stopped at another pond not far down the road that I could see what was making it. Their honking and peeping - the two types make different noises - was loud as they settled in but when they quieted again, I could hear a different sound coming from overhead. As I was shooting them, another group of them flew by, this time their slightly smaller cousins, tundra swans. They blatted out their calls as they swam along and were answered by more swans further out on the pond. They were trumpeters, gigantic white birds that dwarfed the ducks among them. I saw the first swans of the day just east of Strathmore. Article content A muskrat pauses mid-nibble near Chestermere, Ab., on Tuesday, October 13, 2020. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.
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