Stalking the Black Swan

 .

The other day, on an impulse, Marianne and I went to Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge in search of the otherwise nonexistent in the America wild black swan. I'm not going to mislead you: The swan did not get caught up in a windstorm in China and miraculously survive a journey across the Pacific Ocean and then over thousands of miles of the body of the United States to end up in Delaware. No. It was almost certainly an escapee or a dump from a private aviary.

Nevertheless, an adventure is an adventure. And, as adventures do, this one involved a lot of voracious insects. But also two separate bald eagles, sitting on two separate mud flats. And two foxes, one of which was obviously working the cars in the hope that someone would throw him a hot dog, a blue grosbeak (seen in the sun, where its plumage dazzled, and in the shade where it didn't), a wild turkey trotting down the road toward us, a green egret, which is a lovely little bird perfectly camouflaged for waterfront foliage, save for its bright yellow feet. We saw them all.

Oh, and the black swan. 

We saw it.

It was kind of frustrating to be looking at such a rarity and have cars rush be without even pausing to ask what Marianne and I were looking at. I waved one car to a stop and, pointing, said, "There's a black swan out there." To which the woman replied, "We've seen a white one and a fox." and drove on. But on the return loop, we looked to see if it was still where we'd last seen it and it was. More pertinently, there was a stopped car and spilling over it five people with cameras and binoculars and spotting scopes all pointed in the same direction.

"You saw the black swan?" either Marianne or I said.

"Oh, yes. Right there. Wonderful."

"That's good." And, feeling much better, we drove on.

And because there's always more than one ending to any true story . . .

On the way home, shortly after Marianne said that the only thing she regretted was not seeing a snapping turtle, I spotted a snapping turtle on the verge of the highway.

Above: Yes, that tiny black silhouette is it. It looks better through binoculars. Someday I should consider getting a real camera with a zoom lens.

*