Sunset & Swans

Sunsets at the Wetlands

Last year, sunset walks at the Darby Creek wetlands were my absolute favorite way to unwind outdoors. Hardly anyone visits this spot, so it is always a wonderful place to simply enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. Usually, I stick to the same old trail which leads to a sizeable pond out in the middle of the wetland prairie. Not only is this pond a great place to find waterfowl, but it’s also the perfect spot to watch the sunset. While I’ve been enamored with my sunrise walks this year, I also found myself missing those sunsets reflected over the wetlands. So, this past weekend, I decided to revisit Darby Creek Metro Park.

The Swan Family

One of the highlights of this trip was seeing a family of three Trumpeter Swans. Two of these swans are actually a pair that mated at this pond last year, and the other is their one-year-old offspring. This was my first time actually seeing the young swan, although I did see the adult pair several times last year and knew they’d been nesting here.

This is pretty exciting news, since Trumpeter Swans are not too common around central Ohio, and are considered a state-threatened species. These birds were actually once found all over North America, but hunting and habitat loss led to the species becoming endangered in the early 1900s. Conservation efforts have helped Trumpeter Swans a lot, but they are still not as widespread as they used to be. The wet prairie area of Darby Creek Metro Park was restored in 2010 as an effort to revive native habitats for species such as Trumpeter Swans and Sandhill Cranes. Having a nesting pair of swans in this area is great for conservation, as well as for birdwatchers that want to see America’s largest native waterfowl species. Hopefully, they’ll nest here again this year!

Blackbirds Galore

One bird I can always trust to be at the wetlands during spring and summer is the Red-Winged Blackbird. These birds also love to nest in the wet prairie habitat, and in the spring they gather here in huge flocks. Males can be easily seen (and heard) as they perch on the tall grass and cattails and sing to attract females. As the sun approached the horizon, these blackbirds began to congregate in the grasses behind the pond. It was really quite a spectacle to see thousands of these birds all flying over the wetlands. During my walk, I could actually hear the sound of the air as groups of blackbirds would suddenly take flight from the tall grass- even over the loud chorus of birdsong. Although I attempted to photograph the crazy number of birds, I really didn’t have the best lens for those sorts of wide-angle shots.

Duck Season

During my first full year of birding in 2022, I began to pick up on which birds come and go throughout the state in different months. It seems that every month can bring whole new birds, while others may leave to migrate elsewhere. Last year taught me that spring is a good season to look for all kinds of duck species. It’s still probably a bit early, but I did catch a few different ducks on the pond this weekend! Along with the swans, I saw several Ruddy Ducks, Buffleheads, Hooded Mergansers, and American Coots. Waterfowl and shorebirds are probably my favorite groups of birds, so I’m pretty excited to see more ducks coming through in the next month.

I hope you enjoyed looking through my photos from this outing at Darby Creek Metro Park! If you’d like to read more about my nature photography, you can check out my other blog posts or simply browse my photo gallery. Stay tuned to see what sorts of birds and critters I can find next time!