Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Mute Swans
While we were down in Thornbury's harbour we spotted two smooth white boulders on the far side of the river. Except they looked out of place. So we stopped and watched. In a few minutes they moved!
There's a head lifting from the freezing water. With an orange/red/pink beak, these are Mute Swans.
Another head! Mute Swans are most commonly seen in pairs here, and will stay all winter. I've seen them here at the mouth of the Beaver River in the past.
The swans were just over to the right of the mouth of the river, Georgian Bay in the background.
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Swans are hardy birds alright. They don't seem to mind the cold at all. Though they don't look at all elegant when they come into land and find the water is frozen!
ReplyDeleteHow nice to see …
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
What a lovely treat to see the hidden/heads-up mute swan partners.
ReplyDeleteJoy
Delightful! I had no idea swans looked like that in the winter. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe swans look beautiful in the wintry scene.
ReplyDeleteThis cold must be hard on them ... and maybe you too FG.
ReplyDeleteThe swans brighten things up but the view of Georgian Bay is pretty dismal;
ReplyDeleteThose swans are way braver than I would be even dipping my hand in that water! I would never have believed those 'rocks' were swans...and I so love that last shot.
ReplyDeleteNice that you spotted those wSans. You could probably get quite close without them hearing you. After all they are Mute Swans, right:))
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shots!
ReplyDeleteHello, nice sighting of the mute swans. Very pretty winter scenes. Enjoy your day!
ReplyDeleteMute swans are beautiful birds, but like so many beauties there's an ugly side to them. Mute swans are native to Europe and were introduced to North America because of their beauty. Unfortunately, they have prospered and spread disrupting aquatic habitat and competing with native waterfowl. In some areas there have been efforts to control their numbers or eliminate the local populations -- usually to no avail.
ReplyDeleteLovey photos . I have never seen Mute Swans but we do get the Trumpeter and Tundra Swans in the area and flying over head as they fly to and from Long Point Provincial park and the Aylmer feeding station at the Aylmer Wildlife Management, we are located in between the two places along lake Erie and we are blessed to be on the migration path . Thanks for sharing , stay cozy on these very cold winter days and have a good weekend !
ReplyDeleteIt is good they have thick down coats!
ReplyDeleteHardy birds!
ReplyDelete