Thursday 13 March 2014

Swan Lake (FMTSO: Water)

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We’ve been enjoying a week of beautiful sunny spring weather here. Yesterday I decided to walk to a little lake on the outskirts of town which is also a bird sanctuary. There are some rare birds kept within fence, but the lake is also popular among some that are free to come and go as they please – like the whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus) (which are migrating birds). Just now there was a great number of them!

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28 comments:

  1. What a wonderful lake, and so many great types of birds to see and take photos of!

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  2. Lovely and romantic scene of the swan lake. I like how they have a sanctuary there, hopefully with no boating allowed to disturb them.

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    1. This is a small lake, Terra (probably only takes about 20 minutes to walk round it - but as I always stop for photos, I haven't really checked!). I've never seen a boat there.

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  3. The color of the water in the first two shots are stunningly beautiful. Love all the birds.

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  4. On lakes and rivers here, it is rare to see more than just one couple (or maybe, if there is enough space, a few couples) of swans in one spot. They usually try to avoid each other, not like the ducks and geese who love being in larger groups. I like swans but respect them enough not to get too close, especially not if they have young ones.
    Beautiful weather here, too - I can see it from my windows and will venture out for a little walk tomorrow, getting better every day.

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    1. I think these swans migrate in flocks, Meike, and probably most of them will move on further north soon.

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  5. I love it when the water is that blue - gorgeous shots!

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  6. Our swans are black. The joke is when they migrtaed from the North, they were pristine white. when they arrived in NZ, the dirty waster had turned them black.

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    1. Ann, there is one pair of Australian black swans that live within the fence of the bird sanctuary. There is also one pair of South American black-necked swans (white body, black neck).

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  7. Awesome photos! Love the close up on the birds, and the color of that water is amazing. I can't wait till the birds start coming through here again I miss them.

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  8. That is an awesome sight with so many birds and swans!

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  9. Your lake looks so peaceful and safe for the birds. Nice to see the different species sharing the space. Love the centre photo.

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  10. Beautiful pics ! The swans are so lovely.

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  11. Quite a few birds...our waters are finally thawing.

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  12. There is nothing more beautiful and graceful than a swan. We have mostly Canadian Geese here. Your shots are marvelous.

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  13. Wonderfull lace for walking.Greeting from Belgium

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  14. Those swans sure make the geese look small. Lovely pictures.

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  15. Thanks to everyone for your comments! :)

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  16. great place! I would love to see that. awesome shots!

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  17. It's lovely to see all these birds enjoying the sun. Am happy to hear that the spring finally has arrived over there.

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  18. Yes to all the comments above. The problem with being late at commenting is that all the good things have all been said. These are really great photos. I didn't know that swans migrate, so interesting. We have seen bluejays/ cardinals here this last week but no Robins. When Robins come through, headed north I know spring is here to stay.

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  19. Found you at Mosaic Monday. My parents are from Sweden and my maiden name has Swan in it so of course I was drawn to your post. I remember seeing an angry swan mom with her babies in the Baltic Sea when I was 16. I didn't know that swans could be so noisy and scary. We were out on a sailboat and I was enchanted. My aunt and uncle warned me that it would bite. lol

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    1. Hello Katharine and thanks for commenting. Yes, I think swans can be quite aggressive when it comes to protecting their young ones! I seem to vaguely recall that my little brother was chased and perhaps even bitten by one back in our childhood (long long time ago). He might have been trying to be a bit too friendly with them!

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  20. Black Swans was one of the strange things when I came to NZ. I tend to take large numbers of sea birds and waders for granted. I must get more photos before the year turns.

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    1. I guess we all tend to kind of take for granted some of the things (like plants or animal species) that we see all the time, GB.

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  21. Swans are such elegant creatures.....graceful swimmers....just beautiful.

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