I had a great travel year in 2013, one of the highlights being the large numbers of swans I saw throughout the year. \u00a0Never before had I seen so many of them!<\/p>\n
While in Iceland we encountered many whooper swans<\/a><\/strong><\/span>. \u00a0<\/strong>They were everywhere — from city ponds, to fields, to streams and rivers. \u00a0And they were beautiful to watch! \u00a0Whooper swans have a range that covers much or Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n On lovely Vancouver Island and even in my home province of Alberta, I saw thousands of\u00a0trumpeter swans<\/a>. \u00a0<\/strong>The two photos to the right (below) were taken<\/span>\u00a0in the Courtney River Estuary on Vancouver Island, near Comox, where hundreds of them were resting on their migration, enjoying the fresh water. \u00a0They are large animals, trumpeter swans being the heaviest bird in North America weighing up to 14 kg (30 lbs).<\/p>\n Among the best things about travel are the small unexpected moments. \u00a0Last year the swans were among them…I wonder what 2014 holds?<\/p>\n (Click on thumbnails to enlarge, then right arrow to advance the slideshow)<\/p>\n \n
![\n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t \n \n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t \n \n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t \n \n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t \n \n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\t<\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I had a great travel year in 2013, one of the highlights being the large numbers of swans I saw throughout the year. \u00a0Never before had I seen so many of them! While in Iceland we encountered many whooper swans. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88889,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[1,69],"tags":[511,164],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88889"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5356"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19910,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356\/revisions\/19910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/whooper-swans-pod\/2014-005-jan-31a-whopper-swans.jpg\"\n){kind=link}
![\n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t \n \n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t \n \n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t \n \n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\t<\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I had a great travel year in 2013, one of the highlights being the large numbers of swans I saw throughout the year. \u00a0Never before had I seen so many of them! While in Iceland we encountered many whooper swans. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88889,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[1,69],"tags":[511,164],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88889"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5356"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19910,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356\/revisions\/19910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/whooper-swans-pod\/2014-005-jan-31b-whopper-swans.jpg\"\n){kind=link}
![\n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t \n \n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t \n \n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\t<\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I had a great travel year in 2013, one of the highlights being the large numbers of swans I saw throughout the year. \u00a0Never before had I seen so many of them! While in Iceland we encountered many whooper swans. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88889,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[1,69],"tags":[511,164],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88889"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5356"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19910,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356\/revisions\/19910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/whooper-swans-pod\/2014-005-jan-31c-whopper-swans.jpg\"\n){kind=link}
![\n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t \n \n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\t<\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I had a great travel year in 2013, one of the highlights being the large numbers of swans I saw throughout the year. \u00a0Never before had I seen so many of them! While in Iceland we encountered many whooper swans. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88889,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[1,69],"tags":[511,164],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88889"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5356"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19910,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356\/revisions\/19910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/whooper-swans-pod\/2014-005-jan-31e-comox-trip-3-2013-032-comox-bird-sanctuary.jpg\"\n){kind=link}
![\n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\t<\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I had a great travel year in 2013, one of the highlights being the large numbers of swans I saw throughout the year. \u00a0Never before had I seen so many of them! While in Iceland we encountered many whooper swans. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88889,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[1,69],"tags":[511,164],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88889"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5356"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19910,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5356\/revisions\/19910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/whooper-swans-pod\/2014-005-jan-31f-comox-trip-3-2013-040-comox-bird-sanctuary.jpg\"\n){kind=link}