Scanning the lake for our seven glistening white neighbors has been a real joy during our stay on Nina Moose Lake. Trumpeter swans were hunted to near extinction but they are coming back and each year we have started seeing a few more in the Boundary Waters. The seven magnificent birds, that seem content to gorge themselves on wild rice, are the most we have even seen gathered together.
They are massive birds that grab our attention anytime they are near. It’s the sound of their wings that can be heard from several hundred yards away that awes me the most. The air rushing past their wings sounds like a small plane flying overhead.
I want to remember many things from our week spent ricing and visiting with friends on Nina Moose Lake. I hope the sound of the swans taking flight and circling overhead, the rhythmic thumping of their wings, the air rushing over their feathers and their trumpet-like call spurring each other on will be at the center of those memories.
Today is the 350th day of our @wildernessyear to @SaveTheBWCA please join us in protecting this national treasure.
