As I noted in an earlier blog we encountered a large number of Trumpeter Swans at Crex Meadow. Some were in small groups and others were nesting. One large group was acting very strangely.
The would chase one another in the water causing quite a ruckus.
Sometimes they would take off for a short distance then turn around and land.
The strangest thing we saw was birds sitting in the water with their wings extended. I had never seen this behavior before.
We finally concluded that these were a bunch of cygnets from last year. Quite a few of the Trumpeter Swans are tagged but none of these were. They quit banding a couple of years ago so we assumed they were all young Swans. They return to Crex with their parents but once the parents start nesting the parents chase them away. I suppose it is like a kid graduating from high school and on his/her own for the first time. We were told that one pair returned to Crex with all eight of their young this year.