We were fortunate enough to see these swans as we were entering Jackson on the last day. There were several and Dale had been telling us that they come around this time of year but we had not seen any until the last moment.
Nice pose showing wing plumage detail and direct look, Judy. A wider aperture would have bought some more SS with the long lens and a shallower DOF to blur out the BG. You still had plenty of room on the ISO with the D3. Not sure on the whites as I am on a horrible uncalibrated monitor at work. Lovely to catch a new species.
Hi Judy: See a slight yellow cast here and agree that lowering the temp would probably help. You done a great job acquiring details in the swan's breast and under it's wing feathers. I think you did well with the conditions under which you were photographing.
Are you sure this is a tundra? Looking at the brow it's in the form of a V and that is more likely to be a trumpeter as the tundra brow is more of a U shape. Also I don't see any yellow on the beak which is typical of a tundra. Not all have yellow, but most have a fleck or more. Tundras and trumpeters are hard to tell apart unless you hear them vocalize. The tundras sound more like a 40 lb mourning dove with a cooing sound while the trumpeters sound more like a big semi truck's horn. Then there is no question which you have. We have been having both species winter on the creek in front of our house and have the occasion to try to differentiate the two species on sight rather than sound.
Many thanks for your comments and for all the info. I am not sure. We were told that the tundra swans frequent the area around Jackson in the fall and I just assumed that this is what these were so I really appreciate your input. How fortunate you are to have both species near your home as they truly are beautiful birds.
Tundra Swan
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