I’ve been very very interested in festivals that had something to do with nature. My interest was certainly piqued when I had picked up an article about Trumpeter swans having their stay at a certain Magness Lake in Heber Springs.

The swans are large birds with an average weight of around 25-30 pounds, and very wide wingspans. Most of them are white, with contrasting colors for their beaks, area surrounding the eyes and feet.

These swans, apparently, have taken a liking to have their winter and early spring in this area, coming from the areas of Alaska up north.

They have never ventured far south, reaching the state of Arkansas. Story claims that it had started with three swans, around the year 1991. That’s when the numbers increased over the years, until they had reached up far over 100 swans per visit.

The swan-viewing, due to lack of publicity or for any other reason, isn’t really much of a formal event as it is a collated event for most birdwatchers. The swans will just arrive one day and everyone would be there. They usually stay in the water or around the edges of the lake. You’d know they’d be there because of the honking around the area.

Most people would stay in the road by the lake, since the view is nice as well. The swans would eat anything given to them, but the most proper feed would be shelled corn; something which could be easily brought from the town feed shop. Makes for some nice income for the town too. Perhaps the town could consider making it a formal festival in under a few decades.

Swans are best viewed around mid-afternoon, when the sun is cool and the heat and glare are bearable. It’s also the time when they are in flight, so it’s a dramatic sight seeing a whole flock in mid-air before landing back in the lake. They’d have finished eating by then, so it’s a good time for viewing the birds.