On the first day of summer . . . - June 22nd, 2005 at 09:53 AM
Well, we cut out early this afternoon - went down to the beach around 3:00.
We packed sandwiches, some potato salad, iced tea, etc.
We found a place to sit where we could watch a flock of swans -we haven't done that in a long time. Jeff and I were big swan fans for years, but it's worn off now.
Tonight was a thrill - here's part of the flock we were watching:
Swans do not breed until they are around 4 years. They mate when they're young, just like the Canada Geese, but there's no egg laying.
Cygnets are Juveniles after a year - they hang around in flocks then. Mated swans also join flocks when they are not nesting or raising their cygnets.
Those are mute swans - trumpeters do not naturally come to the city - but the swan at the end of this post has been tagged, as you can see. It would be interesting to know if the bird was brought here as an experiment or if he flew. I don't think they can fly with those tags on.
I do wish people would quit dickering with birds - they insist this is trumpeter swan territory - bones were found in the GTA - Greater Toronto Area; doesn't prove a thing, me thinks - they probably were here at one time - long before we were a city.
Mutes came here in the mid-century - 55, as I recall being told. They were a gift from The Crown so we couldn't turn 'em down.
Now, the do-gooder-bird-societies want get rid of them 'cause they're too aggressive. You'd be aggressive too, if somebody was oiling your eggs with paraffin so they couldn't hatch.
Here's a mute doing a triumphant shake - they always do that after they've told another swan off or chased a creature off their territory - a couple of the mutes were a bit aggressive with the other birds tonight. When you see them showing their wingspreads, you know they're after somebody:
This trumpeter is probably a juvenile - they keep them at the zoo until they're a year old, then they send them to the Wye Marsh. Then they set them free.
Like I say, I think this one was put here - I don't think it flew.
None of the mute swans were associating with the trumpeter.
Damn these people!
We packed sandwiches, some potato salad, iced tea, etc.
We found a place to sit where we could watch a flock of swans -we haven't done that in a long time. Jeff and I were big swan fans for years, but it's worn off now.
Tonight was a thrill - here's part of the flock we were watching:
Swans do not breed until they are around 4 years. They mate when they're young, just like the Canada Geese, but there's no egg laying.
Cygnets are Juveniles after a year - they hang around in flocks then. Mated swans also join flocks when they are not nesting or raising their cygnets.
Those are mute swans - trumpeters do not naturally come to the city - but the swan at the end of this post has been tagged, as you can see. It would be interesting to know if the bird was brought here as an experiment or if he flew. I don't think they can fly with those tags on.
I do wish people would quit dickering with birds - they insist this is trumpeter swan territory - bones were found in the GTA - Greater Toronto Area; doesn't prove a thing, me thinks - they probably were here at one time - long before we were a city.
Mutes came here in the mid-century - 55, as I recall being told. They were a gift from The Crown so we couldn't turn 'em down.
Now, the do-gooder-bird-societies want get rid of them 'cause they're too aggressive. You'd be aggressive too, if somebody was oiling your eggs with paraffin so they couldn't hatch.
Here's a mute doing a triumphant shake - they always do that after they've told another swan off or chased a creature off their territory - a couple of the mutes were a bit aggressive with the other birds tonight. When you see them showing their wingspreads, you know they're after somebody:
This trumpeter is probably a juvenile - they keep them at the zoo until they're a year old, then they send them to the Wye Marsh. Then they set them free.
Like I say, I think this one was put here - I don't think it flew.
None of the mute swans were associating with the trumpeter.
Damn these people!