Nikko's Notes

Among us in the San Juan Islands on our very own Orcas, we have a great treasure. We usually see this treasure during the winter. It is a handsome, black and white, five foot long bird called the trumpeter swan, otherwise known as cygnus buccinator.  Trumpeter swans are superlative birds. This story, except for the introduction, is told by a cygnet, a baby swan in his trumpeter swan family.

Don’t you love a good bird when you see one? Well, I have two pretty handsome colors. White is the predominant color of my plumage while the feathers near my neck are a rusty color from dipping into the water to get food. The decaying minerals do that. My feet and beak are onyx. I kind of like that word.

When I say that my looks are very handsome, it’s supported by those humans over there who keep pointing, “oohing and ahhing” and going crazy over us. We trumpeters are the largest not only of all swans, but also all waterfowl. With my neck extended, I...