Trumpeter swans swim in a flooded field at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge on Nov. 18, 2022. Photo by Michael Greenlar | Central Current

Trumpeter swans swim in a snowy, flooded cornfield at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge on Nov. 18 in this week’s Photo of the Week.

The largest waterfowl native to North America nearly went extinct in the 1930s. Only 69 trumpeters were known to be alive south of Canada, according to the Trumpeter Swan Society.

Though extinction seemed imminent, another 2,000 trumpeter swans were later discovered in Alaska in the 1960s.

Efforts to protect and reintroduce the birds across the U.S. led to their removal from the U.S. endangered species list in 1968.

The birds have successfully rebounded but are still relatively rare in New York.

Photo of the Week: Election Day’s Blood Moon

Before polls opened for voting on Tuesday, contributor Mike Greenlar took a few shots of a total lunar eclipse. The best views of the lunar eclipse, nicknamed a blood moon for the moon’s color when it eclipses the sun, came in the hour or so before polls opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday’s Blood Moon will…

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