Honking geese overhead flying in formation
This year’s waterfowl migration is beginning
Drive the farm roads in early November
Search for swans
They have not arrived
Will it be another no swan year?
Before the rice harvest
shimmering brilliant green fields
Stubble flooded after harvest
Prepared for winter's arrivals
They migrate by the millions
Central Valley flyway
Ducks, geese, swans, avocets, stilts, ibis
Bald eagles perch on power poles
Mid-November
The swans have come
Rice fields come to life
Raucous community of winter snowbirds
Tall reeds hide the pond from view
Feel the energy as we approach
Then a burst of birds ascends in mass
Breathtaking
There is joy in seeking and finding
Navigating the backroads
Landscape dotted with flooded fields
Water barely covers stubble in some areas
Others more deeply flooded
Swans prefer these areas
Many ponds have no water birds
Others teeming with life
Not clear how they choose
But the mystery doesn't matter
Just want to relish these magic months
Grateful that this treasure is nearby
Roger Funston
Roger Funston retired to the Sacramento Valley after a long career in the environmental field, including working on four continents. He writes about his life journey, his travels and things he has seen that you can’t make up. Roger finds his muse in nature
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