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
I would love to see a pair of these on one of the ponds around here.
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful birds and such a nice photo....
ReplyDeleteJust lovely...
They are so elegant. It sounds like they adapted to their new environment well.
ReplyDeleteNice swans ! *sings seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying" :)
ReplyDeleteI think they are beautiful birds.Never knew that they were called Mute Swans.~Ames
ReplyDeleteThey are such majestic birds! I've wondered why they were called Mute when they're not :-)
ReplyDeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteMute swans are less vocal than other swans. But you are correct, they are not truly mute.
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.
ReplyDeleteLovely shots, EG! And yes, my eyesight has improved - all the better to keep my eye on what you are up to in 2011!
I think they are absolutely lovely! Thanks for the M lesson!
ReplyDeleteRe Jezebel's: I think it is a sexy 2nd-hand shop! :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, 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.
ReplyDeleteThey may be an invasive species, but they are certainly beautiful
ReplyDeleteThanks for the lesson about the mute swans. They are definitely beautiful birds.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful couple.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful 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
ReplyDeleteThey're pretty, and very tough to tolerate the cold water!
ReplyDeleteNice shots. I like seeing the pair together, out and about in the cold.
Those are elegant birds. Messy, but elegant.
ReplyDeleteThey are such elegant birds ! I wouldn't call them invasive, they are just imigrants, lol !
ReplyDeleteThety are so serene aren't they!
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful shots of such elegant looking swans :)
ReplyDeleteThe swan is the national bird in Denmark ;-)
ReplyDeleteGreat shots!
Aren't they lovely? I can see why someone wanted to import them to beautify ponds - too bad they are taking over tho.
ReplyDeleteDarla
I'd never heard of "mute" swans before. Thanks for sharing and capturing a wonderful image!
ReplyDeleteThey are gorgeous, though. And stately.
ReplyDelete=)
Swans are always so beautiful and elegant!
ReplyDeleteWhat irony: invasive beauty! Hadn't heard the name "mute swans" before. Good M post, EG.
ReplyDeleteThey are so beautiful.We have swans at our place at the beach... our species are not mute. Sometimes wish they were.
ReplyDeleteVery nice photos. I like them a lot.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice day! :-)
I wonder why swans don't get cold?
ReplyDeleteI 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+
awe, they look to pretty to be invasive!
ReplyDeleteWell, they can invade my lake any day! Beautiful, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteRoger always says the birds like this and the geese have antifreeze for blood; he might be right!
ReplyDelete