Go hear the beautiful swan song ~ November 12, 2003

David Heiller

I stopped the car at Heiller Valley on Sunday morning, stepped out, and entered the world of swans.

Malika took these pictures on November 7, 2013.

First the sound hit me. Α swan song. It’s hard to describe, but the first thing that comes to my mind is the scene from the Wizard of Oz when the flying monkeys come swooping in for Dorothy and Toto.

I would wager a fair sum that the sound track from that scene came from a bunch of swans. It sounds like a lot of people laughing and talking, but they aren’t quite human sounds. The sound carries a long way. I can hear it from our new home 1-1/2 miles to the west.

I walked across Highway 26 and down the bank to the railroad tracks. The swans that were close to shore did not like that. I didn’t care. I walked across Highway 26 and down the bank to the railroad tracks. The swans that were close to shore did not like that. I didn’t care. No one else was around, and I wanted a closer look.

They gave it to me as they churned off the water. It took a while for the tundra swans to take off. They pounded the water with their wings, frothing it white with a sound similar to fans at a football game applauding while wearing gloves and mittens. When the swans finally got airborne, darned if they didn’t look like those flying monkeys.

And not just one little group, mind you. But flocks of 50 here, 100 there. Some landing; some circling, some heading toward Wisconsin, and all of them talking at the same time. My nephew John joined me a few minutes later. He saw the sky full of retreating swans. “You did all that?” he asked. “Way to go, Uncle David”

“Thanks,” I replied.

We walked north up the tracks and for a few minutes we were speechless, which is a rare condition for John. The sheer magnitude of the swans was almost beyond words. There were thousands of them, maybe tens of thousands, literally as far as the eye could see, scattered on the broad river like handfuls of popcorn.

Then John started peppering me with questions. He knew I didn’t have the answers, because for one thing, he is smarter than I am. Still, he had to ask. Where did they come from? Where are they heading? How many are there? Are they in other places too? How long will they stay here?

I didn’t have the answers, so I wrote a front page article in this week’s paper about the swans. You can get information on the swans at this website: http://midwest.fws.gov/uppermis­sissippiriver, or by calling 1-800-218-8917.

If you have a chance to see the swans, I highly recommend it. Drive south of Brownsville on Highway 26, and look at the river from Shellhorn on down. You’ll be amazed.

And don’t forget to get out and listen to those flying monkeys.