Last Saturday was the Fall Wildlife Festival at
Crex Meadows. When I woke up that morning I was disappointed because it was raining and storming out. By noon the storm system finally cleared out of the Twin Cities but when I checked the online weather I could see that it was still cloudy and rainy to the north of us which would include
Crex. So I decided not to make the trip north, but I still have some shots to share from a trip up to
Crex last week. One of the big year round residents at
Crex are the trumpeter swans. Each year there are several breading pair that have cygnets and raise them at
Crex. The cygnets are all almost as big as their parents now but are still obvious because they are grey in color, instead of white, and have pink bills.
Trumpeter swans usually establish life-long mates, usually when they are around 3 years old, and then nest the following year.
The clutch usually consists of 3 to 9 eggs. When they hatch cygnets weigh about one half a pound and are already able to swim, although they usually stay in the nest for about 24 hours.
Even though adult swans do not have many predators in the wild, the young cygnets are vulnerable to snapping turtles, raccoons, coyotes, fox, and raptors.
The greatest threat to the adult swans is man. Although it is illegal in most of the US to hunt swans they are often mistaken for snow geese and are killed. There have also been some fatalities from collisions with power lines.
Trumpeter swans were once pretty common throughout the northern US but by 1900 they were thought to be extinct.Fortunately a small population of nonmigratory birds survived in the Rocky Mountains of Montana and Wyoming. Later more birds were discovered in remotes areas of Alaska and Canada.
In 1935 the US established
Red Rock Lakes NWR in Montana to protect the remaining trumpeter population.
In 1932 there were 69 trumpeters documented in the Red Rock /
Yellowstone National Park region and by the late 1950s that number increased to 640 birds.
In an attempt to expand the range of the swans the
Hennepin Parks
Association in Minnesota began
acquiring swans from Red Rock Lakes
NWR in 1966. Their long term goal is to establish a flock of 100 swans with 10 to 15 nesting pairs in central Minnesota.
In 1982 the Minnesota
DNR began to collect trumpeter eggs from Alaska as part of their trumpeter swan restoration effort. From 1987 to 1989 they released 92 two year old swans with the long term goal of 15 nesting pair in Western Minnesota.
In 1987 the Wisconsin
DNR began it's trumpeter recovery effort. In cooperation with Milwaukee County Zoo the Wisconsin
DNR collected Alaskan swan eggs, hatched the chicks in captivity and released them into the wild. The Wisconsin
DNR also worked with the Minnesota
DNS and
Hennepin Parks Association to establish populations in western Wisconsin / eastern Minnesota. The ultimate goal of the Wisconsin
DNR is at least 20 breeding pair.
Michigan
DNR also began a Trumpeter restoration project in 1986. The Michigan goal is to support 2 flocks of 100 swans each.
The population of all swans observed in North America in the summer of 2000 was 15,670. This is about ten times the around 1500 that were counted in the early 1900s and is another success story of what we can do to make sure that we do not destroy our planet or the living creatures that we share it with.
Yellow-rumped warblers are all over the place right now. I see them at every park that I visit and Crex was no exception.
Although not as common as the yellow-butts I have spotted quite a few eastern phoebes.
Michelle spotted this northern flicker and was quite proud of her self for identifying it.
There were a few shorebirds around, mostly greater yellowlegs. In August I am registered for a shorebird workshop out in South Dakota. I should have a good opportunity to get some nice shorebird pics then.
We did see a few ducks that were still around. Most of them were blue-winged teal but we did also spot a single northern shoveler.
The trumpeter swans have begun to build there nests. When we visit again in late June they will probably have some cygnets for us to photograph.
Most of the osprey platforms were occupied with nests. One of the nests had been taken over by eagles but the others were acting as home for osprey pairs. Unfortunately most of the platforms are pretty far out and don't have a very good view. One of the platforms on the north east side of Crex had a little better view from the road. As we stopped to check out the osprey this bird took off from the platform and came over to check us out. That allowed me to get a couple of closer pics as he flew over head. 
The cygnets, which were prolly hatched in June, are almost the size of the adults. Their beaks are changing from the juvenile pink color to the black that they will have as adults and their feathers are changing from gray to white.
The cygnets will stay with the parents and migrate south. They will return with the parents next spring and then will be on their own when the adults begin to nest again.
I also spotted a few American coots at Phantom Lake. Many people think that coots are a type of duck but they are actually a member of the Railidae family. One of the main differences between coots and ducks is that coots have lobed toes instead of webbed feet like ducks.
The fall migration of raptors is in full swing. Many of the red-tailed hawks that have passed through 
I also spotted an immature eagle who was perched in a tree a little ways off. Crex usually has a few pairs of breeding eagles in the spring. It is likely, as the weather gets colder and the water freezes, that this eagle will migrate south to the Wabasha, MN area. Typically in the winter 200 or more eagles migrate to the area between RedWing, MN and Wabasha in areas where the Mississippi River does not freeze. They do not migrate because they are directly affected by the cold they migrate because they require open water so that they can hunt fish.
Crex Meadows is the same location where Michelle and I 
All of the trumpeter swan cygnets have grown up and the swan population is booming all over the park.
I found this swan in the 
There were quite a few swans in the Refuge Extension 
Not only have the 
The 
The cranes stop in 
Soon the cranes will take off and continue their trip to the south, but since the sun was getting low I decided it was time for me to head south.
Another sign that the fall migration has begun is the dozen or so pied grebes that I spotted.
Another sign that fall is right around the corner is the number of sandhill cranes on the refuge. There is a sandhill population that is present through the summer but their numbers seem to have been bolstered by an influx of migrating birds. There looked to be over 100 sandhills on the refuge at this point.
There were still normal summer residents around, like the trumpeter swans who have raised all of their cygnets.
So are kingfisher. I was disappointed that I finally got a kingfisher to hold still long enough for me to get a descent shot and then I can't get any light. AARGH.
We decided to turn West onto the Main Dike Road. The Main Dike Road travels East to West and is the south border of the refuge. It scurts several different waterways and is one of the best place to see waterfowl. It is also where we saw a group of cygnets on our last trip. As we started down the Main Dike Road we saw a common loon in a perfect pose standing in the water with it wings stretched out behind it. Unfortunately by the time we got close enough and got the car stopped he had sat back down into the water.
We sat and watched him for a while hoping that he would pose for us again, but after a while he moved off into the grass and so we moved on. At the Osprey platform in the Refuge Extension Flowage we saw another eagle but it was far away and took of before we could set up for a picture. We continued on the Main Dike Road off of the refuge and into the wildlife management area. Around Dike 5 we saw a pair of trumpeter swans with 5 cygnets. One of the adults was eating vegetation from under the water. The other adult and the cygnets were eating grasses on the shore. They were still a ways away but were closer then we had seen them 2 weeks before.
After shooting a couple gigs worth of pictures we decided to head down south to Phantom Lake. In the Zulliger Flowage we spotted another pair of trumpeters. This pair had no cygnets but they were very close to the road and very photogenic.
They also where not banded which is unusual for trumpeters at Crex.
At Phantom Lake we did not see much except for a mourning cloak butterfly.
So we decided to head to the visitors center to use the restrooms and check out any sightings. After our break we decided to head back to Phantom Lake to try and find the red-necked grebes that have been reported to be breeding on the south side of the lake. We did not find the grebes but we did find a pair of sandhill cranes with a chick in tow.
Crex supports a small population of sandhills through out spring and summer. During the fall migration up to 7000 or more sandhills stop at Crex to eat for the long trip south. While Crex may not have the sheer numbers that you can see at the Platte River in Nebraska during the spring migration in March it does typically offer better and closer views. 
I have photographed 
This time they were close to the road and easier to photograph.
They even obliged us some fantastic poses.
We continued down Main Dike Road and found the common loon back close to shore again.
This time we were ready when he posed for us.
We continued on and when we got close to the intersection of Main Dike Rd and East Refuge Rd a white tailed deer and fawn ran across the road. I grabbed the camera and was able to squeeze off a couple of shots before the disappeared into the brush.
Since the sun was already very high in the sky, it was past 1:30 and my blood sugar was getting low we decided not to north side of the park. Next time I will have to remember to bring some food. Last fall while we were on the north side we photographed a peregrine falcon. there are also nesting osprey and eagles but we will have to save that for another trip.