Wednesday, January 5, 2011

M/ Alphabe-Thursday

MUTE swan swimming in the harbour at Newcastle, Ontario

Brrr. Forget how cold it is! Have water, will swim.

Two swans a-swimming in Lake Ontario

And it's even nicer if your mate is there too.

Mute swans remain in Ontario year-round. Not native to North America, these swans with orange black-knobbed bills are native to Eurasia. During the eighteenth century, mute swans were brought to this continent to beautify parks and large estates. OOPS! A few escaped! Now their numbers are increasing in the wild every year, so many that some people call the mute swan an invasive species. 

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

32 comments:

Kathy said...

I would love to see a pair of these on one of the ponds around here.

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

What beautiful birds and such a nice photo....

Just lovely...

Unknown said...

They are so elegant. It sounds like they adapted to their new environment well.

Jackie said...

Nice swans ! *sings seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying" :)

Ames said...

I think they are beautiful birds.Never knew that they were called Mute Swans.~Ames

Mary said...

They are such majestic birds! I've wondered why they were called Mute when they're not :-)

EG CameraGirl said...

Mary,

Mute swans are less vocal than other swans. But you are correct, they are not truly mute.

Lowell said...

You have mute swans. In south Florida we have mucky ducks. Your swans are much prettier. And if they're "mute," so much the better.

Lovely shots, EG! And yes, my eyesight has improved - all the better to keep my eye on what you are up to in 2011!

Judie said...

I think they are absolutely lovely! Thanks for the M lesson!

Lowell said...

Re Jezebel's: I think it is a sexy 2nd-hand shop! :-)

Sue McPeak said...

Oh, they are beautiful, as are your photos of them. Interesting lesson about how they arrived in North America and Canada! Great Lesson for the Letter M.

La said...

They may be an invasive species, but they are certainly beautiful

George said...

Thanks for the lesson about the mute swans. They are definitely beautiful birds.

Randy said...

What a beautiful couple.

Paulie said...

Beautiful birds! How blessed you are they chose to settle in there! I am sure they have some kind of "seal"to keep the cold from reaching their bodies to make them freeze. . . don't you wish we did? lol No snow here yet. sigh

Janie said...

They're pretty, and very tough to tolerate the cold water!
Nice shots. I like seeing the pair together, out and about in the cold.

Jack said...

Those are elegant birds. Messy, but elegant.

Gattina said...

They are such elegant birds ! I wouldn't call them invasive, they are just imigrants, lol !

jfb57 said...

Thety are so serene aren't they!

Unknown said...

Very beautiful shots of such elegant looking swans :)

Anonymous said...

The swan is the national bird in Denmark ;-)
Great shots!

Darla said...

Aren't they lovely? I can see why someone wanted to import them to beautify ponds - too bad they are taking over tho.

Darla

Theresa Plas said...

I'd never heard of "mute" swans before. Thanks for sharing and capturing a wonderful image!

Susan Anderson said...

They are gorgeous, though. And stately.

=)

VP said...

Swans are always so beautiful and elegant!

Francisca said...

What irony: invasive beauty! Hadn't heard the name "mute swans" before. Good M post, EG.

Vintagesouthernlife said...

They are so beautiful.We have swans at our place at the beach... our species are not mute. Sometimes wish they were.

Kenneth Larsson said...

Very nice photos. I like them a lot.

Have a nice day! :-)

Jenny said...

I wonder why swans don't get cold?

I can't imagine how icy that water would be.

Aren't they lovely, though?

Thanks for sharing this majestic link with us this week.

A+

Jo said...

awe, they look to pretty to be invasive!

PERMANENT POSIES said...

Well, they can invade my lake any day! Beautiful, aren't they?

Rose said...

Roger always says the birds like this and the geese have antifreeze for blood; he might be right!

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.