Monday, August 22, 2011

Mum, cob and cygnets.....!

Yesterday I went to Hyde Park with Aimee, mainly because she had been there on a picnic the day before and had spotted the illusive black swans that I had searched for before, apparently in all the wrong places..! The Black Swan (more) is our state emblem and is featured on the Western Australian flag and Coat of Arms, it has mainly black feathers but with white 'flight' feathers, would love to get a picture of that, and a bright red beak. It all looks calm in the picture but the male (cob) swan spent a lot of time noisily seeing off anything else that was in the water (ducks, coots, moorhens) if they dared to come near the chicks, he also, according to Wikipedia, whistles when disturbed breeding hmm!!  The swans are mainly herbivorous, I took a short video showing the way the adult swans plunge their heads under the water bringing up algae and aquatic plants for the chicks to feed, they were such fun to watch, a great little family....  p.s. crossing fingers the video works, it looks better if you make it full screen....!


Posted by PerthDailyPhoto at 6:54 AM

29 comments:

  1. SharonAugust 22, 2011 at 7:23 AM

    Beautiful birds. They make a lovely family. I enjoyed the little video too!

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  2. RedPatAugust 22, 2011 at 8:14 AM

    Nice family! I had no idea that they were a national emblem for you.

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  3. RandyAugust 22, 2011 at 10:40 AM

    They are amazing. I have only seen them in a photo like yours.

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  4. AndrewAugust 22, 2011 at 11:19 AM

    That is honestly the most amazing contrast ever! Such a rare animal. I would love to photograph these swans. Nice Photo!

    Is that a stuffed animal in the water beside them?

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  5. OlivierAugust 22, 2011 at 1:09 PM

    tres belle photo de cette promenade en famille

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  6. KateAugust 22, 2011 at 1:35 PM

    Beautiful photo of the two black swans!! Video was fun to watch, also!

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  7. Matteo TaffuriAugust 22, 2011 at 1:47 PM

    Awesome shot!
    have a nice week
    ciao
    Matteo

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  8. CraigAugust 22, 2011 at 2:31 PM

    They are simply spectacular Grace. The red beak against the black plumage is startling.

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  9. JoeAugust 22, 2011 at 3:09 PM

    They are indeed very regal gliding along the river. We are thinking alike at the moment Grace as I have also posted Black Swans over the past two days. I should give WA credit as the are your state emblem.

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  10. AdullamiteAugust 22, 2011 at 3:32 PM

    Lovely birds.

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  11. LisaAugust 22, 2011 at 4:04 PM

    Great photo - I love the chicks too! Glad you were able to locate them today. I have posted a photo of one of our black swans on my blog in the past. There are just a few here on Oahu.

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  12. brattcatAugust 22, 2011 at 7:13 PM

    the video worked brilliantly. thank you!

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  13. LowellAugust 22, 2011 at 7:35 PM

    Superb. What gorgeous birds. I don't think I've ever seen black swans before. Our swans are noted for being rather feisty...sounds like yours are, too! :-)

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  14. BirdmanAugust 22, 2011 at 8:07 PM

    Keep pedaling! You'll make it.

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  15. Luis GomezAugust 22, 2011 at 9:33 PM

    Nice! Beautiful birds.

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  16. arabesqueAugust 22, 2011 at 9:58 PM

    oh! such beauty.
    i'm glad you took this shot. ^0^

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  17. LoisAugust 22, 2011 at 10:08 PM

    Such a pretty family! Thank you for sharing the video too. I really enjoyed it!

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  18. VirginiaAugust 22, 2011 at 10:24 PM

    reminds me of reading EB White's Trumpet of the Swan to my third graders. Great photos and video!
    V

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  19. AnonymousAugust 22, 2011 at 10:58 PM

    What a lovely SWAN family portrait!
    Kind vacation regards from Yellowstone Ntl Park and Montana from EAGAN daily photo

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  20. VPAugust 22, 2011 at 11:17 PM

    I love this picture, but after reading The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, if I see a black swan I can't avoid thinking about unexpected disasters on global scale...

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  21. KaoriAugust 22, 2011 at 11:18 PM

    Your video worked just fine! It looked like a pretty strong current. The black swans are so beautiful! I'd love to see them flying. Are they very common in your area?

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  22. cieldequimperAugust 23, 2011 at 1:39 AM

    Ooh, a lovely sight after a hard day's work and lots of stress about a new computer! :-)

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  23. PETRO50August 23, 2011 at 4:03 AM

    Beautiful photos and nice video. I also like watching the swans in this country. They are in town for the winter. We have white ones. In winter, many people feed on the river bank. Peter.

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  24. GemelAugust 23, 2011 at 5:10 AM

    Lovely, might have to go for a wander here myself :)

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  25. JulieAugust 23, 2011 at 5:56 AM

    Nearly every lake that we have in Sydney has a family of Black Swans, too. They are gorgeous creatures. I did not know the male was a 'cob'.

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  26. UnknownAugust 23, 2011 at 7:10 AM

    They are so beautiful! I wish I had black swan in my home... Here, there is only the white one.

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  27. Red Nomad OZAugust 23, 2011 at 6:34 PM

    I can't imagine why ANYONE would call a cygnet an 'Ugly Duckling' - but it IS amazing how they transform into such stylish looking adults!!

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  28. Rae WalterAugust 24, 2011 at 6:24 AM

    Ahhh so that's were to go. Wonderful capture Grace.

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  29. UnknownAugust 25, 2011 at 8:27 PM

    My favourite swan. Lovely family indeed.

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