Time for Departure

About five hundred Whooper Swan pairs nest in Kuusamo annually. Most of them do not migrate south until the lakes freeze over.
The Koskenlampi Pond in the village of Koskenkylä is a traditional spot where the Whooper Swans gather together before the departure. In October, there can be hundreds of pairs at best. The last ones often stay until the beginning of December.
The birds with the dark grey plumage are young birds born in the summer.
The food of the Whooper Swans - the water plants from the bottom of the lake - ends up as leavings on the edges of the ice.