i know, swan again. but it's been raining since last night here, partner said we should drive down to the pond. he's sure that the swans would be up and about with their cygnets because they like to play in the rain and there won't be anyone around.
true enough, when we arrived, they were there, but we were quite late so we watched them as they went behind the reeds to put their babies to sleep. but the male swam across straight towards where we were on the boardwalk as I was setting up my tripod. i said "hello!" and he put his beak on the side of the board. partner said he's probably begging for food for his family. so i apologized that i didn't bring any food because i didn't think i'd see them there.
as i spoke to him, i turned around to look at partner and partner had this amused smile. he couldn't believe i was actually talking to the swan like it's a person. i told him i talk to this guy and his mate every time i go there. the swan would move his head sideways like he could understand me. heck i even told him to say hello to the wife and the kids. if anyone else had seen and heard me they'd probably think i was nuts. partner thought i was brilliant!
so partner said we must research and find out what food we can bring the swans next time. they eat worms, snails and caterpillar, but those are not options for me to bring. eeek! they eat aquatic vegetation. they can get that around the pond. in captivity they are fed grains. now i have a bag of tri-coloured quinoa and i wonder if i can feed them that. but i can get some barley or wheat grass maybe. (heck this hobby's getting really expensive now!).
i just read that the swans remember the humans that are kind to them. and they don't really attack us unless they feel that they are in danger from us. that brings me joy.
@claireuk - thank you, claire. in this shot, i could see his disappointment, especially how he slowly swam back to the other side where the reeds are, in contrast to his fast enthusiastic swim towards me. i really felt bad.
@678tabby - thank you, june. it's always wonderful to learn something new. and ever since i started 365 i learned so much, not just about photography but about a lot of other things, too.
@ness50 - thank you, ness.
@claireuk - thank you, claire. in this shot, i could see his disappointment, especially how he slowly swam back to the other side where the reeds are, in contrast to his fast enthusiastic swim towards me. i really felt bad.
@678tabby - thank you, june. it's always wonderful to learn something new. and ever since i started 365 i learned so much, not just about photography but about a lot of other things, too.