The whooper swans have arrived in Kenbuchi Town again this year.
Swans migrate from northern Eurasia, including Sakhalin and Kamchatka, in late autumn, and stay in rivers, lakes, and marshes from southern Hokkaido to northern Honshu, where they overwinter.
They then return to Eurasia from late March to early April.
There are two types of swans: whooper swans and whooper swans. It is very difficult to distinguish between the two.
Although they have “large” and “small” in their names, the whooper swan has a front length (from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail) of 140 cm and the whooper swan has a total length of 120 cm, making them both large for birds.
They look very similar, and the only difference in appearance is the color scheme of the yellow area where the bill begins.
They are completely wild and are not accustomed to people.
They move away when approached and are not easy to see with the naked eye.
I used the telephoto lens of my camera and the magnification of the digital camera image to distinguish them.
I was able to identify them by using the telephoto lens of my camera and the magnification of the digital camera image, which revealed that they were whooper swans flying near my residence.
They fly into Kenbuchi Town around 7 or 8 in the morning or after 5 in the evening, or fly off to their next roost.
This is speculation, but it seems that they do not fly far during the daytime, as flying in the sunlight would consume their energy.
They prefer to fly in fields where there is still some melted snow.
Some also stay in rivers and lakes.
There they sleep during the day or forage and feed on plant stems, roots, and fallen seeds.
From the farmer’s point of view, it is fine if they eat the remainder of the crop after it has been harvested, but sometimes they dig up and eat wheat that was sown in the fall and is scheduled to be harvested in early summer the following year, making them unwelcome guests for the farmer.
A farmer I know hangs plastic models of hawks to keep them from coming to his fields.
They spend most of their time clumped together with a couple of females and males, or what appear to be family members.
Sometimes they perform a “greeting display” in which they raise their upper bodies, face each other, and chirp to each other with their wings half open, flapping their wings and stretching their necks.
I lived in Kenbuchi Town until 1978.
At that time, swans did not come to the town.
I am not sure when they started coming, but they have been coming every year for at least the last 10 years.
I do not know if the reason for their arrival is due to climate change, changes in the natural environment, or changes in the swans themselves (e.g., an increase in the number of swans may have increased their flying grounds as their population has grown).
I also do not know when they will come.
Once they arrive, they fly out the next day unless the weather worsens.
Their singing is loud and very noisy in the mornings and evenings.
However, it is only for a short time, and as a resident of the northern land, I enjoy watching the visitors only during this season.
