Swans in the Mist
I went to take the trash out with Kevin, and as we walked back down the long gravel drive, I happened to look up. It’s been very foggy these last few days, so it was one of those oddly bright dusks where the fog is brighter than the sky.
A V-formation of swans went overhead in total silence.
They were very low over the house, almost skimming the tree-line, their outlines just faintly blurred with fog. I could see the darkness of their bills. It was a perfect monochrome image-white birds on white fog with black bills and black scribbles of trees reaching up toward them. There were nine or ten of them, maybe more-it didn’t even occur to me to count them.
It was eerie how silent they were. Geese honk when they go by. These didn’t.
I, being the cool operator that I am, yelled “Shit! Dude! Uh! Thing!” and pointed wildly.
Kevin looked up and said “….whoa.”
I scrambled inside and checked the internet. It turns out that North Carolina has the largest wintering population of tundra swans on the East Coast-75 thousand birds. These birds were a good bit farther west and south than usual-I’ve never seen one out here before (or in fact ever, they were lifers for me!)-but given the weird weather and the fact that we’re due a winter storm coming in very soon, I expect they were moving in response to incoming weather, probably heading to Jordan Lake. (All tundra swan reports in this county are on that particular lake, making it a safe bet.)
It was an extraordinary sight, and not one that I expected when I was pulling my coat on to help Kevin drag the trash down to the curb. So I guess you just never know, huh?
Originally published at Squash's Garden. You can comment here or there.