Trumpeter Swan

Description:

Trumpeter swans stretch to 6 feet in length and weighing more than 25 pounds—almost twice as massive as a Tundra Swan. Getting airborne requires a lumbering takeoff along a 100-yard runway. Despite their size, this once-endangered, now recovering species is as elegant as any swan, with a graceful neck and snowy-white plumage. They breed on wetlands in remote Alaska, Canada, and the northwestern U.S., and winter on ice-free coastal and inland waters. (allaboutbirds.org)

Habitat:

Mississippi River above the Hampton dam.

Notes:

This lone trumpeter sat quietly offering to pose for some photos.