The Story
On March 28, 2018, I photographed this Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) at the Zhangye National Wetland Park in Zhangye, Gansu, China. Outside the breeding season tundra swans gather in groups and often feed on leftover crops. It breeds in the Arctic and spends the winter in North America, Europe and Asia. It is the smallest of the Holarctic swans, white as an adult, with black feet and a black bill that shows varying amounts of yellow. IUCN lists the species as Least Concern. The park lies along the Heihe, the second-longest inland-draining river in China, at about 1,440 to 1,470 meters above sea level.
I used a Pentax K-1 and the HD PENTAX-D FA 150-450mm F4.5-5.6ED DC AW for this one, at 1/1000 sec, f/10, ISO 400. The wetland’s managers are working to restore habitat that farming and falling water tables have degraded.
©2018 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) belongs to the family Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2025), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List