CameraintheWild - Carolinas Nature Photographers Association

PHOTOGRAPHING TUNDRA SWANS AT BEAR ISLAND WMA
Lamar Nix • lamarnix@gmail.com
Flight of Six. Air born tundra swans form up into flight formation.
The biting chill of a predawn, February morning added to my anxiety. I had brought a party of photographers way
out to the Bear Island Wildlife Management Area*, to observe and photograph the wintering Tundra Swans, but
we had not heard or seen evidence that they were actually there, at least in large numbers. A palpable sense of unrest
and frustration seemed to be falling over the waiting photogs. When I had come over here the afternoon before to
scout the scene there were no swans on the lake at all until after dark. Only then a few pairs of swans started to come
in and land, perhaps scared away earlier by the shots of a hunt in progress in the adjacent managed area. So there
were indeed swans, but perhaps only a few on the lake.
Still there was silence and none of the loud honking that marks the awakening of the great birds, nor were any
birds close enough to shore to be seen in the dim light. Finally dawn began to break and parties of tundra swans
became visible toward the far side of the lake, much to the delight of the photographers. Gradually the swans
began stirring, and forming into groups
that prepared to take off on their day
trips to forage in the countless marshes
covering this area. As the first sunlight
streamed across the water, the sight of
the great birds, and the steady cacophony
of honking combined to provide one
of those profound moments when all of
nature is in tune.
The Tundra Swan, Cygnus columbianus, is a
migratory species that breeds across the
tundra of Alaska and northern Canada
during the summer months. The “eastern
population” of tundra swans migrates to
the Atlantic coast as far south as South
16 • Camera in the Wild • Fall 2011
Swans Ballet. Big bodied swans run along the surface of the water to gain enough
speed to become air born.
Carolina. The South Carolina wintering population is found almost exclusively in the managed wetlands of the
ACE Basin near the Bear Island Wildlife Management Area where they forage on the natural vegetation**. In a
typical year the big birds arrive in December, and depart on their migration north at the first full moon in March***.
Our photographing party on that day was treated to about 100 swans. On previous visits I have seen as many as 300
of the big birds on the lake at one time. Still the photographic potential today was good. We were unlucky with
sky color that morning as the sky , just gray, but we did begin to get direct sunlight as the sun reached the horizon.
For these conditions a long, telephoto lens is imperative, and the cost of a large aperture lens starts to pay dividends!
My shooting objectives were twofold: to capture images of the beautiful swans floating about on the water illuminated
by the sublime color of a dawn sky; and as the swans began leaving in small groups, to photograph them
in the takeoff. The big bodied birds rise up and run along the water surface as they gain speed to become air borne,
making a considerable splash as they go. For the former I was shooting with the camera on a tripod and set up for a
fast shutter speed of 1/100 seconds or better to catch the moving birds sharply. For the latter takeoffs I had the lens
set wide open with iso at 200, where I was confident my Canon EOS 7D would produce good sharpness with minimal
noise. My telephoto lens was the EF 100-400mm, f/4.5-5.6L , which is good in adequate light, but marginal
in the lighting conditions extant. The takeoffs occur spontaneously and require a broad field of vision as well as fast
response to capture them. A tripod is not useful in this situation and I shot the takeoffs hand-held with the Image
Stabilization set to 1-axis stability to avoid shifts in framing of the moving birds. As the birds rise into the low angle
sun’s rays, their translucent wings provide a good target for the camera’s autofocus even in the low light.
My photography party that day was treated to one of nature’s true jewels!
*Bear Island WMA is managed by the SC DNR. It is located on Bennet’s Point Road, about 18 miles from the turn
off on U.S. 17, mid-way between Beaufort and Charleston.
**Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) by Walt Rhodes published on the DNR website at http://www.dnr.sc.gov/
cwcs/pdf/Tundraswans.pdf.
***Verbal communication with naturalist at SC DNR, Bennet’s Point DNR facility.
Seven Swans A’swimming. Swans swim in a delicate light before taking off on their day trips.
Carolinas’ Nature Photographers Association • 17