Originally posted by monochrome some sort of large swan winter over.
Trumpeter swans like these? (I didn't have the DA 55-300 then, so a manual focus SMC A 70-210 had to do). This is uncropped.
I stopped on the Trans-Canada Highway between Moose Jaw and Swift Current where there is a single viewing platform and a few information signs regarding Reed Lake being part of the
Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. Over a period of 45 minutes, I was alone (except for the highway traffic less than 100 yards away. I don't have any pictures of whooping cranes (I've only come across them once in my time in Saskatchewan), which are larger than trumpeter swans, but they winter in Texas, so I don't think they get as far east as St. Louis.
For the price of one of these long lenses, a serious birder could make a few trips to Canada. But the opportunity to demonstrate conspicuous consumption isn't as good. I'm not being critical, I just wanted to add a bit of perspective.