The Dance #7 (Monochrome)
These mute swans on Collingwood's waterfront have mated. Now let's hope the snow and ice will melt soon so nest building can begin.
The Dance #6 (Monochrome)
The Dance #5 (Monochrome)
The Dance #3 (Monochrome)
Courting Mute Swans on Collingwood's waterfront.
The Dance #4 (Monochrome)
The Dance
The Dance #1 (Monochrome)
Urban Wetlands #1
Black Ash Creek is free of ice now. This is the mouth where the creek flows into Collingwood Harbour on Nottawasaga Bay. I used a shorter focal length for this shot as the story I saw was about the landscape, with the waterfowl as elements in that scene.
Urban Wetlands #2
Black Ash Creek is free of ice now. This is the mouth where the creek flows into Collingwood Harbour on Nottawasaga Bay. I used a shorter focal length for this shot as the story I saw was about the landscape, with the waterfowl as elements in that scene. You can imagine the ruckus as the Canada Geese took off!
Urban Wetlands #3
Black Ash Creek is free of ice now. This is the mouth where the creek flows into Collingwood Harbour on Nottawasaga Bay. Last year a pair of swans nested on that spit of land you can see on the left. (It's mostly underwater at the moment.) I'm not sure if this is one of the same swans or not, but I suspect it is. The pair was busily checking out the site and chasing away the geese.
Nest Building #1
April 11, 2015. While this is a fantastic spot for ease of taking photos, I don't have high hopes this nest will survive.
Nest Building #3
April 12, 2015. The cob arrived at the nest.
Nest Building #4
April 12, 2015. The cob issued a few warning snorts so I would keep my distance. No worries. I have a long lens.
Nest Building #2
April 12, 2015. When I returned first thing this morning I could see there had been a lot of progress on the swans' nest, but the swans were off foraging.
Nest Building #7
April 12, 2015. The cob and pen work as a team building up the nest with the materials they've gathered.
Nest Building #5
April 12, 2015. The cob started right in, adding structure to the nest.
Nest Building #6
April 12, 2015. The swans work together to gather materials to take back to the nest.
Nest Building #9
April 12, 2015. Nest location, on the rock, on one of the inner harbour breakwalls.
Nest Building #8
April 12, 2015. The pen tries out the nest.
Nest Building #10
Morning Patrol #2
April 13, 2015. Just after sunrise this morning, the cob patrolled the waters around the nest while the pen foraged. The nest is looking quite substantial now. Too bad it's not further back from the water's edge.
Morning Patrol #1
April 13, 2015. I visited the swans' nest just after sunrise this morning. The cob was serenely patrolling the waters around the nest.
Gentleman
April 13, 2015. The cob appears to be shielding the pen from the rain!
Breakfast
April 14, 2015. Mute swans feeding near the nest just after sunrise.
