|
|
|
Coy Swan
 |
|
| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Since we finally had a sunny day I grabbed the new camera and walked up to and over the Eton-Windsor bridge. There are always waterfowl along the footpath on the Windsor side of the river.
There were a lot of Mute Swans - Cygnus olor - on the riverside; consequenly there was a fair bit of territorial displaying, or busking, going on. The classic swan pose that everyone is familiar with - arched neck, wings half raised - is "busking"
This bird was displaying quite a bit, even towards some of last years cygnets. I just happened to catch him preening in the midst of his busking and it looks like he is being coy.
I cropped the photo down from the original, to make the swan more prominant, and ran it through Paint Shop Pro Photo XI to balance the levels and sharpen the detail of his feathering a bit.
An interesting note, copied here from Wikipedia:
"Swan Upping is an annual ceremonial and practical activity in England in which mute swans on the River Thames are rounded up, caught, marked, and then released.
Traditionally, the Monarch of the United Kingdom owns all unmarked mute swans on the River Thames. This dates from the 12th century, during which swans were a common food source for royalty. Swan upping is a means of establishing a swan census. Under a Royal Charter of the 15th century, the Vintners' Company and the Dyers' Company, two Livery Companies of the City of London, are entitled to share in the Sovereign's ownership. They conduct the census through a process of ringing the swan's feet, but the swans are no longer eaten.
Swan upping occurs annually during the third week of July. During the ceremony, the Queen's, the Vintners', and the Dyers' Swan Uppers row up the river in skiffs. Swans caught by the Queen's Swan Uppers under the direction of the Swan Marker remain unmarked, those caught by the Dyers' are ringed on one leg, and those caught by the Vintners are ringed on both legs. Originally, rather than being ringed, the swans would be marked on the bill — a practice commemorated in the pub name The Swan with Two Necks, a corruption of the term "The Swan with Two Nicks"."
According to this information most of the swans I saw today were either Dyer or Vintner swans, they all seemed to have at least one leg ring. |
Only registered TrekNature members may rate photo notes. |
|
|
| Discussions |
| None | | You must be logged in to start a discussion. |
|
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 156 W: 23 N: 225]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-s-g.gif){kind=small}
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 593 W: 79 N: 323]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(4314)![Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-n.gif)
(0)