Trumpeter Swan Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: There are three very different places where I've seen a number of Trumpeter Swans over the years, although typically they're at distances too far for really great photography. One is Potter's Marsh south of Anchorage, one of my favorite places to go when I have work trips to the Anchorage area. Another is Yellowstone National Park, where my sightings tend to be pretty distant. The third is much closer to home, but still a good 4 1/2 hour drive away, at LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge near the South Dakota border with Nebraska. A majority of photos are from LaCreek, and in fact, most are from one great day of birding in 2011, including the photo below of a Trumpeter Swan taking flight.

Trumpeter Swan - Cygnus buccinator


Trumpeter Swan 1	Trumpeter Swan 2	Trumpeter Swan 3	Trumpeter Swan 4
August 26th, 2004	August 28th, 2004	August 10th, 2010	August 10th, 2010
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming	Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming	Potter's Marsh, near Anchorage, Alaska	Potter's Marsh, near Anchorage, Alaska
Two swans on the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park	Bird foraging in a small lake in Yellowstone National Park	Profile of a swan in choppy waters on a late summer Alaska day	Lone swan in wetland habitat in Alaska

Trumpeter Swan 5	Trumpeter Swan 6	Trumpeter Swan 7	Trumpeter Swan 8
August 10th, 2010	March 18th, 2010	March 18th, 2011	March 18th, 2011
Potter's Marsh near Anchorage, Alaska	LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota	LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota	LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota
Profile of a lone swan swimming in an open wetland habitat	Swan parade at the edge of a cattail marsh and wetland	Two swans taking flight from shallow wetland habitat	Three swans in a row taking flight

Trumpeter Swan 9	Trumpeter Swan 10	Trumpeter Swan 11	Trumpeter Swan 12
March 18th, 2011	March 18th, 2011	March 18th, 2011	March 18th, 2011
LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota	LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota	LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota	LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota
Single swan taking flight from shallow wetland	Swan making a ruckus as it takes flight	Two swans flying over wetland habitat on early spring day	Two swans in flight on an early spring day

Trumpeter Swan 13	Trumpeter Swan 14	Trumpeter Swan 15	Trumpeter Swan 16
March 18th, 2011	March 18th, 2011	March 18th, 2011	March 18th, 2011
LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota	LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota	LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota	LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota
Pair of swans in flight with leafless spring trees in the background	Pair of swans in flight on a blue sky sunny day	Five swans flying over a national wildlife refuge	Pair of swans foraging in shallow water in typical wetland habitat

Trumpeter Swan 17	Trumpeter Swan 18	Trumpeter Swan 19	Trumpeter Swan 20
March 18th, 2011	March 18th, 2011	March 18th, 2011	March 18th, 2011
LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota	LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota	LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota	LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota
Three swans standing in shallow water on a sunny afternoon	Two swans standing in shallow water on a sunny afternoon	Group of swans swimming in wetland habitat with Common Goldeneyes	Pair of swans standing in shallow water

Trumpeter Swan 21	Trumpeter Swan 22	Trumpeter Swan 23	Trumpeter Swan 24
May 19th, 2016	October 2nd, 2020	October 2nd, 2020	October 2nd, 2020
LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota	Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming	Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming	Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Two swans swimming in wetland habitat on a sunny spring day	Closer profile of a swan swimming on Yellowstone Lake	Three swans lounging on the shores of Yellowstone Lake	Lone swan feeding on the waters of Yellowstone Lake