Beautiful Visitors on Wawa Lake

Young of the year, or cygnets, can be distinguished from adults by their grey plumage, their yellowish legs and feet, and until their second summer of life, their smaller size.

These beautiful swans were swimming in front of the Water Pumphouse on Wawa Lake at lunchtime today.

This pair is of an adult Trumpeter Swan and what appears to be an immature swan due to the amount of grey feathers on its neck and breast. These are not little birds, the male swan, or cob, weigh in at an average of 12 kg with females being slightly smaller, averaging 10 kg. Wings may span 3 metres.

If you have the opportunity to see the birds, look carefully at the adult male. His feathers on his head near the beak is stained orange as a result of feeding in areas rich in iron salts.