Begin planning now to join in the 2026 Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), an annual birding event that will take place Friday February 13th thru Monday the 16th – over Presidents Day Weekend. Connect with others in your community and around the world any or all of the days, for 15 minutes or a couple hours – whenever, wherever, as long as you wish. Simply identify and count the birds you see, then report your list on eBird, just as thousands of birders will join you to share information about the birds they find that weekend – how can anyone resist!

Pick any week or weekend during February and there is a birding festival for you to join in quality social birding activities at a primo birding location. Enjoy a variety of events that may include guided field trips, informative workshops and presentations, children's activities, featured speakers, a birding expo or marketplace, bird art and photo exhibits and contests, and more. Each birding festival has unique opportunities for beginners and experienced birders in mind to learn more about birds and birding while connecting with others. 

Saturday January 31st, the Superbowl of Birding will bring birding teams together to compete in a 12-hour race to find as many bird species as possible on the coldest day of the year (maybe). Centered at Mass Audubon's Joppa Flats Sanctuary, this friendly competition fosters the joys of winter birding and being outdoors while raising awareness about the importance of bird habitats along the Massachusetts North Shore and surrounding areas. All ages and levels of experience are welcome to participate in the Superbowl of Birding. 

There is something about swans and snow – perhaps it's the pristine white on white effect – and when you add a beautiful shade of sky blue reflecting on the surface of tranquil water, it creates a very serene visual that takes you to a quiet place of meditation as you absorb the beauty of a captivating slice of nature. I let my body relax so my eyes could take the lead in absorbing the scene before me – aah. There were many pairs, single swans, 2 family groups, and larger loose groups that overall numbered about 70 beautiful Trumpeter Swans, swimming, feeding, bathing, preening, resting, and sleeping swans on the adjacent snow-covered ice, in what seemed to be something of a sense of community among the huge white waterfowl.

The Kowa BD II 8x42 XD Wide-Angle Binocular has the especially broad field of view of 429 feet at 1,000 yards matched with a close focus distance of 6 feet, which are both of special interest to birders. The Kowa proprietary XD lenses are rich with fluoride crystal and fully multi-coated, plus the BD II roof prisms are phase-coated and reflection-coated for maximum light transmission to provide bright, sharp, high-contrast images with natural colors and detailed views of the birds you encounter. These Kowa binoculars are both compact and lightweight for comfortable use anywhere, anytime.

Whether you need a light jacket or a warm winter coat, Patagonia's classic Down Sweater Jacket provides perfect warmth for birders during cool and cold weather days. Lightweight, windproof, water resistant, and packable, this comfortable down jacket is available in your choice of 9 colors. Patterned for warmth and fluid movements for daily activities, or when birding outdoors, the Patagonia Jacket is made of NetPlus 100 percent post-consumer recycled ripstop nylon, and it's insulated with 800-fill-power down to limit the weight, and keep you extra warm without a bulky or puffy feel.

Available from Duncraft, the large Feeding Frenzy Feeder has 8 feeding ports and holds up to 12 pounds of seeds. Convenient for year-round feeding, the aluminum tray at the bottom provides more perching space, captures fallen seeds, and has built-in drain holes. The broad green plastic weather dome measures 15½ inches in diameter to keep seeds dry and to provide shade. The clear plastic seed reservoir is durable and allows you to monitor seed levels. This attractive feeder measures 13 inches tall and it is easy to clean and fill from the top.

A tranquil pond punctuated by a scattering of elegant white swans floating on bright blue winter water and surrounded by snow-covered ice created a dreamy scene. What a thrill to encounter such a large group of Trumpeter Swans in a small pond created along a slowly flowing stream. 

The waterway was fairly close to a bend in a rural road that provided access to an open view of the swans that numbered about 70, no small gathering on the western edge of the eastern woodlands. I hesitated for a half-minute to appreciate the beauty of the scene before raising my camera to begin composing photographs at will. There were single swans, many pairs, 2 family groups, and larger numbers of resting swans that were swimming, feeding, bathing, preening, and resting in the water and on the adjacent snow-covered ice. Using my zoom lens to frame a number of different views across the whole of the winter marsh, the photo options seemed endless as I began zeroing in on certain pairs and groups of Trumpeter Swans. 

Previous winter swan photo opportunities in the area have been rather fleeting, but this was one of the best chances I’ve had to photograph Trumpeters in the few areas of open water in the area. The location couldn’t have been better, with a chance to view the swan community with the winter sun at my back and the water and birds before me. I was far enough away that the swans were aware of my car, but continued with their regular activities undaunted. In fact, time and time again a pair of Trumpeters or a group swans swam quite close, following the narrow stream of open water toward my position.   

Suddenly, the wild calls of swans from behind my left shoulder alerted me to turn to see a flock of 4 Trumpeters flying toward the pond, followed by 2 more. That’s when I needed to step out of my heated auto and into the 8-degree cold to follow the flight of the swans through my camera lens. They circled low around the “swan pond” and I expected them to land in the shallows, but instead the group of 4 flew straight toward my position, head-on, until they broke to the left and into the full force of the afternoon sunlight, which is when I managed the best photos – when the swans were closest. The view of the white swans flying in formation just above the treetops and circling above the blue pond created another level of natural beauty in the otherwise stark wooded landscape. 

As the swans winged by, their close flight emphasized their giant size. Trumpeter Swans are the heaviest flying birds in the world (some weigh more than 30 pounds), flying on especially broad wingspans that reach more than 8 feet from wingtip to wingtip! Then, if they belt out a baritone call it gives them something of an exotic flair that breaks the freezing silence and permeates the valley each moment it sounds. The swans did not land, but simply flew back in the direction where their calls originated, but what a thrill to see them in flight above the others, above the pond, and above me – and hearing the pond swans calling in unison in response to the visitors’ appearance and flight. 

My attention to watching for new photo options for the swans continued outdoors until the tips of my fingers began tingling in earnest from the frigid cold, in spite of the winter gloves covering my hands. No sweat, just hop back in the warm car with the heater running to warm up. I took most of my photographs from inside my heated “mobile blind,” but turned the engine off when I anticipated taking some photos to eliminate the movement of the car in an effort to keep the photos as sharp as possible. I also positioned my lens against the frame of the open window to steady the lens, and I instinctively hold my breath whenever I am about to press the shutter button. 

I eventually broke away to do a little exploring and saw another smaller group of Trumpeter Swans in a distant pond along the little river’s course, but turned back to spend a bit more time with the original group of swans. I had one more promising location to check on at Andy’s point, where the little Pelican River flows between Little Pelican Lake and Pelican Lake. With relatively warm temperatures after the first weekend of January, the river was open with some swans in attendance there, but when I checked the swans had vacated and the river was ice-covered. Oh well, back to the sure thing and a few more swan photographs near the end of another fun daytrip to the western edge of Minnesota lakes country. 

                     Article and Photographs by Paul Konrad 

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