Liz Siivola has made an art of trying to capture the Trumpeter Swans flapping their wings at both the Swedetown Ponds and the Calumet Lake... today’s shots are from a recent day at Calumet Lake where she caught the performance which looks like a dance, complete with a bow at the end. I don’t recall if these Swan families stay around into the colder weather or not, but I’m guessing as the lake and ponds freeze they would have to migrate further south. I did a Google search to see how far they can fly in a day, with that big wing span and found they typically fly anywhere from 5 to 100 miles in a single day, but can also cover several hundred miles in a day when undertaking long-distance migration. Pretty impressive.

Debbie Jarve does some swan watching also and recently caught two of them dancing it up at the Swedetown Ponds. They did plenty of vocalizing, too, so make sure you have your volume turned UP! Swans mate for life, so they perform synchronized movements like head-dipping, wing-flapping and mirroring each other to maintain their connection. So, it is a courtship dance!

Magnificent photos and video of the Trumpeters!
Especially love their dancing and vocals, I’ve
witnessed Sandhill Cranes dancing before, but not
these guys. Very cool! As for where the swans go in
winter, according to the Cornell Ornithology Lab:
“Wintering birds seek out ice-free sites where
vegetation is available, including freshwater streams,
rivers, springs and reservoirs. In the Midwest, swans
may winter on deep ponds of reclaimed surface
mines. Wintering swans may forage in croplands and
pasture.” So they likely don’t have to travel too far!

Hi
I believe that the mated pair in the video may be
"talking" to each other, but fall seems an unlikely
time for courtship/mating.

I wonder how swans decide how far to travel. If they
guess wrong about water staying open or food
availability they may not survive to learn better.

Kathyrn, imagine the swans are similar to
cranes, they “talk and dance” to reinforce
their bond outside of mating season. I’ve
even seen Sandhills dancing in November!

The swans in the pics
are probably practicing
their part in;
Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake!
And the swans in the
video are just trying
to peck a fight.
Thanks for sharing,
Liv & Debbie!

Glorious pictures, absolutely phenomenal video!

Hi
Alex, I like the mental picture of ballet swans.

These are so great! I just love watching swans and
you captured them perfectly. Thanks for sharing
these.