First Swan, No Fooling

On the way to drop off Katherine at school yesterday, we spotted a swan flying over Johnson Lake! This picture is a swan on the paddy to the west of our house, taken last year. Every year the swans try to nest in our paddies, and every year the birders come by the bunches to see them. I don't know who alerts them, but it is very irritating to go out on my deck in my jammies with my coffee and see a ton of people in "my backyard." They have huge binoculars (the kind that need tripods) and cameras with huge lenses (the kind the need tripods) and the swans squawk and squawk at them... to no avail. Last year we even caught some of these birders with their binoculars trained on our house! We debated firing a round over their heads (just kidding) but decided instead that this year we will put up a sign:

WARNING:

DEER TICK INFESTATION

HIGH RISK LYMES DISEASE AREA

ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK

Or how about:

WARNING:

This area under investigation for

AVIAN INFLUENZA
DO NOT ENTER