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Oops, my food is BELOW water level


Oops, my food is BELOW water level
Photo Information
Copyright: Peter van Zoest (PeterZ) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2395 W: 94 N: 5542] (17634)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-06-28
Categories: Birds
Camera: Nikon D300, AF Nikkor 70-300mm f4-5.6 G, Digital JPEG
Exposure: f/6.3, 1/160 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Anna's Favourites 1 [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2009-08-02 7:18
Viewed: 445
Points: 57
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
My house and garden are completely surrounded by ditches. So I see a lot of water birds every day. One of them is the Mute Swan. I made this photo from my garden. This cygnet seems surprised that its food was below water level.

The Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) is a species of swan, and hence in turn a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is native to much of Europe and Asia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is also an introduced species in North America, Australasia and southern Africa. The name 'mute' derives from its being less vocal than other swan species, though it is not always silent.

Description
Adults of this large swan range from 125 to 170 cm (49-67 in) long with a 200-240 cm (79-95 in) wingspan. They may stand over 1.2 m (4 ft) tall on land. Males are larger than females and have a larger knob on their bill.
The Mute Swan is one of the heaviest flying birds, with males (known as cobs) averaging about 12 kg and females (known as pens) more than 15 kg. An unusually big Polish cob weighed almost 23 kg, surpassing the longer-bodied Trumpeter Swan to make it the heaviest waterfowl ever recorded. Its size, orange-reddish bill and white plumage make this swan almost unmistakable at close quarters.

Young birds, called cygnets, are not the bright white of mature adults, and their bill is dull greyish-black, not orange, for the first year. The down may range from pure white to grey to buff, with grey/buff the most common. The white cygnets have a leucistic gene. All Mute Swans are white at maturity, though the feathers (particularly on the head and neck) are often stained orange-brown by iron and tannins in the water.

Behaviour
Mute Swans nest on large mounds that they build with waterside vegetation in shallow water on islands in the middle or at the very edge of a lake. They are monogamous and often reuse the same nest each year, restoring or rebuilding it as needed. Male and female swans share the care of the nest, and once the cygnets are fledged it is not uncommon to see whole families looking for food. They feed on a wide range of vegetation, both submerged aquatic plants which they reach with their long necks, and by grazing on land. The food commonly includes agricultural crop plants such as oilseed rape and wheat, and feeding flocks in the winter may cause significant crop damage, often as much through trampling with their large webbed feet, as through direct consumption. Unlike Black Swans, Mute Swans are usually strongly territorial with just a single pair on smaller lakes, though in a few locations where a large area of sutiable feeding habitat is found they can be colonial.

The Mute Swan is less vocal than the noisy Whooper and Bewick's Swans; the most familiar sound associated with Mute Swan is the vibrant throbbing of the wings in flight once this bird has taken off from the water. This sound is unique to the species, and can be heard from a range of 1-2 km, indicating its value as a contact sound between birds in flight. They do however make a variety of grunting, hoarse whistling, and snorting noises, especially in communicating with their cygnets, and usually hiss at predators trying to enter their territory.

Although this bird can be tame, especially to those who feed it daily, it is aggressive in defence of its nest, and its size and impressive hissing make it a formidable adversary for animals as large as a fox. The male (Cob) is also responsible for defending the cygnets while on the water, and will sometimes attack small watercraft, such as canoes, that it feels are a threat to its young. The cob will also try and chase the predator out of his family territory, and will keep animals such as foxes and birds at bay.

Distribution and habitat
The Mute Swan is found naturally mainly in temperate areas of Europe across western Asia, as far east as the Russian maritimes, near Sidemi.
It is partially migratory throughout northern latitudes in Europe and Asia, as far south as north Africa and the Mediterranean. It is known and recorded to have nested in Iceland and is a vagrant to that area, as well as to Bermuda, according to the U.N. Environmental Programme chart of international status chart of bird species, which places it in 70 countries, breeding in 49 countries, and vagrant in 16 countries. While most of the current population in Japan is introduced, Mute Swans are depicted on scrolls more than a thousand years old, and wild birds from the mainland Asian population still occur rarely in winter.

The Mute Swan is protected in most of its range, but this has not prevented illegal hunting and poaching. It is often kept in captivity outside its natural range, as a decoration for parks and ponds, and escapes have happened. The descendants of such birds have become naturalised in the eastern United States and Great Lakes, much as the Canada Goose has done in Europe.

Source: Parts from Wikipedia
efsus, robindb, Mrajan, nglen, goldyrs, Gert-Paassen, cicindela, Miss_Piggy, eqshannon, maurydv, CatherineD, jaycee, boreocypriensis, romuszka, red45, albert, thor68, Noisette, MMM, Hormon_Manyer, anel, NinaM, chudy, xTauruSx has marked this note useful
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To euroblinkie: VlinderPeterZ 1 08-02 11:26
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • efsus Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 436 W: 10 N: 738] (3210)
  • [2009-08-02 7:27]

Merhaba Peter!

Besinlerini, su yüzeyinin aşağısında aramak zorunda olan bu Sessiz Kuğu'nun, ıslak ama çok sevimli bir portresini paylaşmışsın. Verdiğin bilgiler de oldukça yararlı. Tebrikler.
Best regards.

Hüseyin

Hi Peter,

Well seen image which is well focused, composed and detailed. The bit of vegetation on the beak completes the story well.

Robin

  • Great 
  • zetu Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 649 W: 15 N: 1607] (6263)
  • [2009-08-02 8:36]

Hello Peter
Very cute and with natural colors
Regards
Razvan

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2912 W: 34 N: 8640] (32202)
  • [2009-08-02 8:45]

Hi Peter. It must be grae living with all that water around you. I do like this cute picture of the Young Swan. It looks surprised as you say . Taken with sharp focusing and fine detail. The eye has catch light .I like the wetfeathers and the green on the bill. well done TFS.
Nick..

A real wild and wet shot, Peter!
Very well timed!
Your note is very interesting, too!
Bravo!
Goldy

Hallo Peter,

een mooi portret opname van deze jonge Zwaan.
Goede detailering en ogcontact.
mooie naturlijke kleuren.

Gert

Hello Peter!
Funny title to this picture. This cute wet swan looks really nice. I like contrast and good DOF.
Best regards from Lodz,
Radomir

Hallo Peter
You are really making me jealous with all these lovely birds that visit your garden. Now don't be surprised if you hear a knock at the door, and when you open it, it is me coming to visit. It is fine; I’ll camp out in your garden and sleep in a tent. Just the thought of seeing all these beautiful birds featured lately in your gallery will make me forget all the comfort of my own bed. All jokes set aside. This is really such a beautiful and "natural" looking image. This swan has such a naughty look on its face, as if it had taken a dive when it was not supposed to and was caught in the act. I just love everything of this image, the wet look, the glint in the eye, the water droplets falling from the beak and the piece of greenery stuck to the Swan's beak. Thanks for sharing this great image. Best regards.
Anna

Hi Peter,
The moment is of course wonderful, but the quality of the photo is not what I expected. Is this a heavy crop or did you need to work on the photo a lot? There is this strange halo around the bird where there is suddenly no noise. Everething else in the BG has a lot of noise. The sharpness isn't there either. I am sure its all about the moment, but its not up to your usual high quality.
Sorry,

Niek

Now I know what mother meant when she said the weather was for the birds...this when it was raining..however your choice was under water...perhaps it dual purposed this as a cleaning too!
Bob

Hello Peter,
a beautiful portrait of this young Mute Swan taken from an excellent POV with very good details and beeautiful natural colours, very well composed.
TFS
Best regards
Maurizio

hallo Peter
een leuke opname van de kop
super details en goed licht
het blijft altijd een leuk moment om een jong op de foto te nemen
groetjes lou
ps. de vlinder is geen landkaartje maar de gehakkelde aurelia

  • Great 
  • cirano Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 656 W: 0 N: 228] (4950)
  • [2009-08-02 12:02]

Slav Peter,
Very nice portrait with good focused and natural colors.Thanks for sharing.
Dûrzan

het lelijke swaantje. goed scherp en mooi contrast
gr
Jeroen

Hello Peter,
Excellent shot, with fine details and beautiful composition. Unusual one! Cheers,
Catherine

  • Great 
  • jaycee Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2493 W: 11 N: 6885] (21912)
  • [2009-08-02 16:41]

Hi Peter,

This Mute Swan is so wet and so cute! I love the eye and the green leaves on his beak. You captured him perfectly with wonderful details and natural colors. Looks fantastic against the dark background.

Hi and Good Morning Peter,
A lovely and nice portrait capture of this pretty mute swan.
TFS and also thanks for warm welcome message.
All the best!
Bayram

Witaj Peter

Enchanting child. Very nicely glances eye. the best plant is on beak. To be visible drop after submersion in water head.
I have with swans my place and know how difficult then subject. Large contrast is between bright swan and dark water.

I congratulate moment and greet - Roma

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2705 W: 74 N: 8864] (30243)
  • [2009-08-03 2:32]

Hi Peter!

Haha, what a surprise :-) Next time it should wear boots :-) Excellent portrait with early morning hairdo and even some water plant on beak. Cute and funny.

Hello Peter,
Good and funny photo of this wet swan, great focus with sharp details
Well done
Albert

Wow Peter, superb closeup of this beautiful bird. Nice eye contact. Very nice profile photo. Great composition.
TFS,
Kedar

Hello Peter
a lovely shot of this Cygnet with superb details on his wet plumage
great contrast between the white subject and the dark BG
nice to see a small green plant on his break
you are very lucky to see a lot of waterbirds every day from your garden
Have a good night
Jacqueline

hello peter,
fine portarit, i liked the title of the image, the tight crop suits the shot, good eye contact,
tfs & regards
pankaj

  • Great 
  • MMM Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 921 W: 0 N: 1985] (8905)
  • [2009-08-05 4:30]

Hi Peter
What a great portrait.Excerllent closed up and POV very sharp image with fantastic detail of the white plumage.Good text also.
TFS Michel

Buen fin de semana para tí también Peter !

Tu toma de gran naturalidad y parece que con poca manipulación. Preciosa.

Saludos: Josep Ignasi.

  • Great 
  • anel Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1725 W: 0 N: 3924] (15760)
  • [2009-08-16 4:28]

Hello Peter,
You seem to leave in a very natural area and you have quite interesting visitors in your garden! Now, this guy looks very funny and I would have taken a picture from him too. Very vivid picture, may be just a little surexposition on the head, nothing important although.
Have a nice Sunday
Kind regards
Anne

  • Great 
  • NinaM Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 801 W: 3 N: 2100] (6596)
  • [2009-08-16 10:31]

I have missed this shot, it is lovely! I love the tiny leaf on the beak of the cygnet, the innocence and the expression we feel in this picture is so nice. Thank you!

Francine

  • Great 
  • chudy Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 75 W: 0 N: 90] (495)
  • [2009-08-24 13:49]

Siemanko Peter!
Lovely "ugly duckling". Good natural colours and the background.
I am greeting Slawek

Hello Peter, this portrait also funny and perfectly photographed. TFS and regards, Deniz

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