Mating swans

[nanila]

Eldest and I were just finishing a walk on the towpath when we spotted a pair of swans doing a slow dance in the section of canal next to our house.

We watched them for a while and then it appeared they were finished, so we put the camera down and moved closer. We were a little shocked when the male jumped on top of the female, hence why some of the photos under the cut are a little blurry, as above!



Courtship photos. And then...






Fifteen seconds of some very weird noises later...





Aaaaaaand back to the grooming.

Comments

[minoanmiss]

Ah, romance.

[nanila]

Lol, indeed! 😆

[vriddy]

Great pictures!! They weren't shy, haha.

[nanila]

Nope, they were not going to be put off by a couple of snap-happy humans!

Wow!

[ysabetwordsmith]

EEE! You caught heartswans in the wild! I am impressed.

Re: Wow!

[nanila]

They've been hanging around our lock for a couple of weeks now so I guess they were waiting for the opportune moment!

[angrboda]

I'm surprised they mate on the water. I would have thought it would be easier and more comfortable for them on the land.

[yourlibrarian]

I've thought the same about the ducks, and apparently some do drown in the process.

[nanila]

I guess it's because it segues directly from the courtship dance? Clambering ungracefully onto land might spoil the mood...

[cmcmck]

Billing and cooing! :o)

[nanila]

The cooing was very odd-sounding to human ears. Dulcet tones to other swans though, which is what mattered here!

[adore]

Good for them. :D

[nanila]

They certainly seemed pleased with their performance. 😀

[shirebound]

What a serendipitous encounter! May many healthy and happy swanlings result.

[nanila]

Fingers crossed ! If it's the same two that had ten cygnets last year, a bit further down the canal, then I reckon we can expect a fair few. I believe 6 of the cygnets survived. These two are ringed so I think they're the experienced parents.

[ihavenoarms]

nice

[nanila]

Thanks!

[kaishin108]

Oh wow. I guess you taking photos did not bother them one bit.

I just love how their necks make that heart. One of my favorite images in nature.

Thank you so much for posting!

[nanila]

Nope, they were completely unperturbed by us throughout the process. Glad you enjoyed the photos!

[yourlibrarian]

Amazing set of pics!

[nanila]

Thanks! They were quite unexpected, heh.

[silveradept]

Well-photographed. That's the birds part. Well someone need a macro lens for the bees?

[nanila]

Haha! If we end up with bees in one our bird boxes as we did last year, I'll give that a go (from a safe distance).

[turlough]

What a fantastic set of photos!

[nanila]

Thank you!

[julian]

Hah. Nice pictures. I was like, "Oh no, she'll drown" with some of them, but that was brief.

[nanila]

It was a bit of a worry but as the whole event was only about 15 seconds long, it was OK!

[space66]

Awesome photo story. Thanks for sharing :)

[nanila]

Glad you enjoyed it!