Nevertheless a white winter

Last weekend I went to visit the Bewick’s swans (kleine zwanen) wintering north of Ghent, near Landsdijk.

The Bewick’s swan (Cygnus bewickii) is a subspecies of  tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus, a small Arctic swan species. These white beauties breed in northern Siberia and winter in our nutrient rich meadows and corn fields. Several hundreds of swans spend the winter in our country.

Beautiful but very shy, hence I needed some more gear in order to get close enough for decent pictures…

This gear came in the form of a ghillie suit. Boys in need of their toys, right?

 In the self portret above you witness this gear being tested in the suburban jungle of Ghent.

Tundra bean geese (toendrarietgans) migrating past

First swans in sight: mom, dad and two offspring

More swans flying past

Thanks to the suit, I was able to hide in the middle of the meadows, where the swans soared past.

More swans foraging in crop fields

A very close swan, soaring past whilst calling. True magic

The sound this arctic beauties produce, is simply mesmerizing