Mute Swans, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada

By Barbara Levy

Following a severe rainstorm — and consequent flooding — this past November, thanks to the our hard working road crews here on Salt Spring Island, we were finally able to head out to one of our favourite lookouts in the south end of the island on the first of December. For us, this spot — found along Isabella Point Road Beach and which looks out to Fulford Harbour — is so special because one of the families of Mute swans gathers there to drink fresh water from the outflow from Fernwood Creek. This little family with its single cygnet is very friendly and beloved by quite a number of other islanders, who take time out to come and visit them on a regular basis. I thank these beautiful swans for letting me take a family portrait of them as they preened on a morning when the sky was turning gunmetal blue and you could feel another storm brewing over the windswept water.