After two weeks of above average temperatures winter weather returns to Jackson Hole. Much of the open water on the NER has refrozen and left the waterfowl with less room to forage. Many of the Trumpeter Swans that were near the highway just a week ago are now gathered together in the ponds next to the Miller House. Trumpeter Swans, Barrow's Goldeneyes, Mallards, and Gadwall are all a common sight on the refuge this week. Trumpeter Swans are just about the heaviest bird that can still lift off the ground and all of that extra meat and feathers go a long way to keeping these birds warm on the cold nights in late winter.
