Pic of the Day

Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator:  Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, Ohio

    On my recent trip to photography neotropical migrants in Ohio, I spent some time at Ottawa NWR photographing swans. Trumpeter Swans are native to Ohio, but were extirpated during the early part of the twentieth century.  In 1996, a population was reestablished at Ottawa, and the birds have made a miraculous recovery.  As I drove the backroads of  Ottawa, I counted seventy-nine trumpeters.  Most seem to be paired.  This is just another, of the many success stories of federal and state recovery programs.  Efforts of the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the protection provided by the Endangered Species Act are essential for continued restoration of wildlands and its endangered flora and fauna.  Our relationship with the world in which we live is tenuous, but the average person cannot, or does not want to see the earth’s fragility. I think Aldo Leopold explains it best when he said,"We abuse land because we see it as a commodity belonging to us.  When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."  The real question is, how do we instill this sentiment into those who are clueless?   

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/2000 second @ f/9