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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Black Swans

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Believe it or not I still have massive amounts of photos from New Zealand that I haven't yet shared with you. I'm sure they'll work their way out into my posts for years to come.

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These pictures were taken at Lake Taupo. Early in our trip I spent the afternoon at Lake Rotorua and couldn't quite figure out what I was seeing far out in the water. It looked like dozens of tiny lockness montsers.

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Here in Taupo I could see that the S shapes were actually the curve of the black swan's necks.

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What really struck me in New Zealand is that the animals don't appear to be scared of humans like they are here. I don't mean to say that they are those types of animals that are so used to tourists that they come up and steal your lunch.

These are still wild animals and they keep an amount of distance and a close eye on you.

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But here I was, sitting on a rock by the water and this swan came right up. He or she just continued eating and swimming around while I snapped photos.

Apparently male swans are called cobs and females are called pens but I thought it rude to ask.

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I hear that the under part of their wings are white. They must be magnificent in flight with wing spans up to 6 1/2 feet.

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Incredible creatures. They were first introduced by Australians and later were found flying to New Zealand from other areas. This causes them to be called both exotic and native animals.

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This was the first time I had seen a swan in the wild. Absolutely beautiful.

Do you have swans where you live?

20 comments:

  1. Wow, I've never seen a black swan before!

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  2. Those are *gorgeous*!! I've seen white swans, sure, but never black.

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  3. OOOOOOO, those are gorgeous.

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  4. My son will for sure enjoy these wonderful pictures. He was just talking about swans the other day, he will find this very interesting.
    Smooches,
    Andrea

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  5. I adore swans. We used to live next to a funeral home and they had a pair that swam in a pond. I'd walk over there every day to vist. Not the friendliest creatures. Ours hissed and kind of charged, but I LOVED them. I've never seen black ones...lucky you.

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  6. Those are gorgeous ,and the vivid black is so pretty. I love that it came right up to you so you could take a few photos, he/or she must have wanted to be a part of your magnificent blog! :)

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  7. Yes! Looks like you solved the mystery of the lockness monster! Good job!
    I don't know if the swans I see from place to place around here are wild, but I'm guessing they were originally purchased for ponds and such. They are beautiful birds and fun to watch and feed!
    ☺ Celeste

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  8. I've never even heard of a black swan before. I bet they are beautiful.

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  9. Such beautiful swans! I have never seen black swans either.

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  10. I dont think we have swans in my area, on a gross note they have turkey buzzards, ick.

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  11. Have you considered making a photo book from all of these? I just made one and will be sharing it this next week on my blog. It was awesome!! And your photos totally deserve their own special book.

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  12. And he loved you- that black swan sure did! Or he thought you were going to make him famous on Animal Planet with all of your incredible pictures!! Probably both :)

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  13. Right next door to where I work is a wildlife preserve and a walking path. There are tons of birds of all kinds, including swans. They are beautiful, but these black swans are just gorgeous, wow!

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  14. The curve of their neck is just so graceful...

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  15. Lovely photos.
    I love black swans. We had some near where I grew up but I don't think they are that wide spread in the UK.

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  16. Those are beautiful birds. I didn't even know black swans existed!

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  17. A black swan has got to be one of God's most glorious creations.

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  18. I don't know what happened, but in the last two years I've become a total bird watching nerd! We've got some beautiful Black Swans here in Orlando at a park called Lake Eola in the heart of downtown. I love that place & the swans and other water birds make it so much more interesting!

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