Nesting Swans

There is a nesting pair of mute swans at Lost Lagoon in Vancouver's Stanley Park. Here is a series of three photos taken of them earlier in April. I hope to have more photos later once the young are on the scene. Enjoy these for now!

Wood Ducks - Aix sponsa

On visits to Vancouver's Stanley Park I've seen a pair of Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) and on Tuesday of this week I got some excellent photos of them. I found them not too far away from the southern end of the Lost Lagoon. In the above image the male is on the left and the female on the right.

Here is another closer look at the pair of ducks.

The above image shows the female alone. I love the colours. How about you?

Then there is a shot of the male with even more colourful plumage! Enjoy!

Swans: A visit by a friend...

Tuesday afternoon was a chance to visit the Lost Lagoon once again. The sunny weather was excellent for that. One of the mute swans definitely had to pay me a visit. This series of photos resulted.

Notice the wake left in the water as the swan moves quickly ahead.

Here is a close-up shot. I hope you have enjoyed these photos and will visit again. There are more images of the park's varied creatures to share.

The American Coot - what an odd-looking bird

Aside from the swans mentioned in the last post, there are a number of other waterfowl that frequent the lagoon at Stanley Park. One of them is the American Coot, Fulica americana, with a length of 15.5 inches, a wingspan of 24 inches and a weight of 1.4 pounds (650 g). It's an odd-looking bird to say the least. It looks like a beginner's trial at creating a waterbird: well, let's take a round body, add a short neck, a small head with an odd beak and attach some strange feet and see what it will do! Here you have the result. Click on the images and take a closer look.

Ever wondered what birds are thinking when they gaze into the water? Think about that for a moment! Here are a few more photos of the coot taken on past visits.

I hope you have enjoyed these photos of the American Coot. Look for more interesting posts in the future.

Swans: Preening, preening and more preening.......

Mute Swans, Cygnus olor, are big birds and there are a number of adult pairs in Vancouver's Stanley Park plus a number of juvenile swans from last year. I haven't taken the time to count them but perhaps on one of my visits I should do just that. According to the National Audubon Society's, The Sibley Guide to Birds, this bird's length is 60 inches, the wingspan is 75 inches and it weighs on average 22 pounds (10 kg). That's one good-sized bird. There is a female mallard duck, Anas platyrhynchos, in the upper left-hand corner of the top photo. This bird by comparison is 23 inches in length, has a wingspan of 35 inches and weighs 2.4 pounds (1,100 g). This gives you some idea of the size difference. So naturally, there is a lot of preening to be done to keep the feathers clean and in order. Here is a series of photos taken at the Lost Lagoon on Sunday afternoon, an overcast but rainless day. I sat on a park bench for a long while watching this one adult swan start preening in the water and then continue on shore.

This is a graceful bird in the water but movement on land looks very laboured. On one of my visits I even noticed a swan that was "pigeon-toed." Click on the photos to get a closer look.

Ever wondered where the idea for goose-necked or swan-necked lamps came from? Well, nature would be an obvious source of inspiration. Here you see the swan stretching way to the wingtips and the tail.

I think we're done now. That's a beautiful bird and I spend a fair amount of time just watching them plus the other waterfowl. I hope you have enjoyed this view of part of the swan's life.

Waterfowl at Lost Lagoon - Stanley Park

On Thursday afternoon I was in Vancouver's Stanley Park to visit the waterfowl at Lost Lagoon. The Mute Swans (Cygnus olor) were great to look at as usual. As adults, they have pure white feathers with an orange bill and black bulb near their nostrils. I had previously referred to Trumpeter Swans but that apparently was in error. Their bills are black as adults and are Cygnus buccinator. It can be a challenge identifying birds and animals at times. There was a little Barrow's Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica) that I wanted to get a photo of but it seemed to disappear into the water a couple of times I took a shot. There is one image of a bubble in the water made by the duck as it dove in. Then there was another shot of just the tail as it went yet again into the water. On the third try I finally got the bird. The ducks in the second last photo are called Scaup (Aythya) but I am uncertain whether they are the Greater or Lesser Scaup (anyone know?). In the final photo you can see that it was an overcast day even though the sun was making an appearance late in the afternoon but too low on the horizon to make much difference to the quality of the images. The photos look so much better with a blue sky and the sun out. So, enjoy the photos just the same!