There is a lot of spectacular wildlife in Alaska, but this October, one of the most prominent animals are the tundra swans that have taken up short-term residence on local lakes. I was first alerted to them by recent photos in the Anchorage Daily News, but I hadn’t realized how many there were until I made a drive over the weekend down to the Kenai Peninsula.

A swan takes flight at Tern Lake this morning.

Almost every large lake as at least a pair of swans paddling around. Several are hanging out in Potter Marsh, and quite a few more are visiting the lakes along the Seward Highway between here and Tern Lake.

If you’ve never gotten a good look at a swan – and until I moved to Alaska, most of my experiences were domesticated swans that one might see at some hoity-toity water park – they are very impressive animals. They have spectacularly large wings and bodies, and there’s some illusion that occurs when they’re in the water that makes them appear goose-like in size. But if you get to see one standing on land, or flying at close range, you start to think more of a small airplane rather than a large bird.

Today’s sunny skies gave me the opportunity to snap a few photos of some of the swans I saw on my journey today.

Wigi Tozzi is the owner of Alaska Vacation Store, specializing in custom Alaska vacation packages, including custom Alaska winter packages, honeymoons and destination weddings.