Beauty Of Nature: mars 2011

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Beauty of Nature

"Birds-2"

(You will find Category Birds-1, at January 2011 where
you are welcome to have a look at all the previous added birds)

Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)

Wednesday 16th March, 2011
"A dream comes true"

Today I woke up early, I had already packed all my gear, and
both the camera batteries were charged. I had already prepared
everything the evening before so I was able to get ready and on
my way in no time. I went to the same place where I spotted
the Mink in February. It is a very good place where you are able
to spot many different birds and wild animals. It was a very grey
morning but I was lucky, and at this point I did not know how
lucky I was going to be this particular day.

Both sides of the creek were occupied with Whooper Swans(Cygnus cygnus)

"Greylag Goose" (anser anser), Mallards/wild ducks(Anas platyrhynchos)

Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) and I could also spot some

pigeons.

Suddenly a beautiful Eagle approached me from above behind me,
the birds by the creek seemed nervous and had started to signal
to each other, and when I turned around to see what they were
nervous about, I saw this beautiful Eagle. And I was lucky to get
my camera up and able to capture this special moment. This was
the first time in my life getting this close to a wild Eagle.

Holding my camera between myself and the Eagle with the sound of the

release mode CH (continuous high speed) I actually felt that I missed the

magic feeling of this encounter, however I was very excited to have been

graced with its present at this close range, and had high hopes to get

beautiful shots. Following the Eagle I could still heard the sea birds

warning signals and the sound from some of them taking off to

reach a safer place to avoid the hungry predator.

The Eagle stood still in the air hovering looking down at me, when decided that
It was just another wild life photographer and not a threat, the Eagle decided
to continue flying passing over my head in a to us both suitable distance
and headed towards the early morning potential breakfast. I stopped for a
while and raised my sight towards the sky for a couple of seconds it was an
amazing moment, and I noticed that I was holding my breath.

It felt like the Eagle and I looked at each other and it was almost like
I was reluctant to continue with taking photos, the fantastic encounter
could be a "one in a million" opportunity to be this close but I decided
to capture this moment to share with you all here on the blogg.

Eagles have exceptional eyesight and can spot prey from extreme distances. Their
eyes are many times more powerful than that of a human.

The eagles have fantastic broad wings, the huge talons are used for crushing,
killing and carrying the prey, whilst the beak is used for tearing and eating.

I could not see if the eagle was ringed or not , and back home when enlarging

photos I still was unable to see any ring. It is very interesting that a very

old white-tailed eagle was found dead on Näversholma (birch bark islet)

in the Åland archipelago. The information from the ring shows that it is the

oldest Eagle that lived in freedom. The dead eagle was ringed on the

Swedish east coast in 1978, *38 years ago*. This also means that that

particular eagle beats the world record among eagles who live in freedom.

The ring was controlled by the local conservation curator and the body of

the bird was sent on to the Museum of Natural History in Helsinki,

writes Swedish Yle.

The close encounter affected me deeply, but I was surprised that I did not see
or hear the sound of any "Raven" in the area. I have heard that ravens are
very sensitive and if the raven have caught the sight of you and become
restless, the result can be that also the eagles will avoid the place for
several days, and that is how sensitive our raptors actually is to disturbance.
When the eagle dissapeared in the distance still searching the area along
the creek for a potential prey, I lowered my camera in silence.


Pigeon "hiding" among the mallards

I suddenly discovered a pigeon, who might have tried to "hide" from the eagle
or just was drinking water from the creek. I have red that pigeons are able
to drink water when having their head down while drinking, without then rising
their head and then back to swallow as other birds are seen to do.

Pigeon

(I am still unsure if this is a Stock Dove/ Stock Pigeon (Columba oenas)

After a while the pigeon started to slowly walk away from the mallards

closer to where I was hiding, I am not sure but it seemed like the

"little one" waited to see if the eagle would come back.

Pigeon

Then the pigeon seemed to have decided that the danger was over
and lifted from the ground and flew away, luckily very nearby to
where I was standing. Back home again I started to have a look
around on the internet to find out more about pigeons. I think that
it is a stock pigeon/stock dove but I need to have that confirmed
by someone who knows more to be able to determine if my
suspicions are right or not.

Pigeon

Searching the internet I also found some disturbing news regarding the
Swedish pigeons/doves;

A large number of pigeons was found dean on the Swedish Island Gotland in
2010, test results from the National Veterinary Institute in Uppsala showed
that the Newcastle Virus had reached not only Mälardalen but also Gotland.
The virus affects birds nervous systems, respiratory and gastrointestinal
tracts. The virus spread primarily by direct contact between sick birds or
birds that carry the infection without symptoms. Wild bird are suspected of
spreading the infection over greater distances. The infection also spreads
with tools, shoes, clothes, vehicles, dust and feathers. Wind-borne infection
has been seen over a distance of about 60 meters. However no human infection

You can read on "the Board of Agriculture´s" website;

A pet owner who suspects Newcastle disease must seek medical advice,and
report the situation. As long as a veterinarian takes up the case you also
have to do everything you can to prevent the infection to be spread.
All suspected infected animals and all other animals in the herd must
be isolated, no person, no eggs or animals that had contact with the
suspected infected animals may leave the facility until a veterinarian
has taken over the case.

Sweden has experienced outbreaks of Newcastle disease since the mid-1990s
as a result of this the Board of Agriculture expanded the "danger zone"
In most countries in the world the poultry is vaccinated against Newcastle

disease, in Europe it is currently only Sweden and Finland which do not

vaccinate against it. Contestant racing pigeons and show pigeons are

however vaccinated in all European countries.

Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)

There were several Whooper Swans who arrived to the creek when the eagle
dissapeared. They are very beautiful and very majestic and the sound when
passing by is amazing. This particular swan arrived alone, usually they fly
in pairs or in formations, maybe this one had lost its partner during the hard
and cold winter.

Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)

The whooper swan is 140-160 cm, with a wingspan of 205-275 cm and weigh
8-20 kg. It has a angular head shape and a variable bill pattern that shows
more yellow than black. The whooper swan require large areas of water to
live in, especially when they are still growing, because their body weight
cannot be supported by their legs for extended periods of time. Therefore
they spend much of its time swimming, straining the water for food, or
eating plants that grow on the bottom.

Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)

They have a deep honking call and, despite their size, are powerful fliers.
They can migrate many hundreds of miles.

Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)

They pair for life, and their cygnets stay with them all winter, they are
sometimes also joined by offspring from previous years.

Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)

Their preferred breeding habitat is wetland, but semi-domesticated
birds will build a nest anywhere close to water. And therefore the area
surrounding this creek could be a very good area for nesting. Hopefully
I will be able to locate a nest to be able to hide in the nearby on a suitable
and respectful distance and get some nice shots. In courtship, a pair will
face each other, wings quivering in a half-open and lifted position. The
neck of each bird is repeatedly bent and then extended. Each performance
is accompanied by loud bursts of trumpeting.

Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)

Their nests are often very large, especially at altitude, and it consists of
plant parts mostly taken from the lake bottom. The normal breeding
season is in May and June, but it appears that it begins in mid-April.
Both the male and female builds the nest together, the male will then
guard the nest while the female incubates.

Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)

The female will usually lay 4-7 butter coloured eggs (exceptionally 12)
and the cygnets hatch after about 30-36 days. They leave the nest after
only a few days but stays with their parents, usually at least two months
or even as long as to the parents next nesting. They are able to fly at an
age of 120 to 150 days.

Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)

The adult whooper swan looks whiter than the "mute swan". The beak
is bright yellow against the base of the bill while the beak tip and base
is black. The juvenile birds is greyish white the bill is black and white
to yellow with a little tinge of pink they turns white in the summer of
their first year or in early spring in their second year of life.

Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)

From a distance they can be separated when flying, from the
"mute swan",by the straighter neck and the flatter profile of the body.
They can utter a loud trumpeting vocalization, in groups of three or
four tones when it flies. The sound of wings is a silent "Whoosh"
unlike the mute swans strong singing sound.

Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)

It is not easy for the swans to lift or to land with regards to their
size. It takes a lot of energy to lift and fly up in the air. Therefore
they very often fly in formations. Once they are up in the air,
it is all about saving energy and they are able to save up to 50%
energy by that extra "lift" they get from the turbulence created
by the bird in front of them. And when they swoop down on to the
water they sometimes looks a bit "clumsy" since it is hard to
stop and land gracefully.

Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)

The lonely whooper swan did not land in the nearby, instead the swan
continued to fly away from where I was standing and followed the
open water further away at the creek heading towards the same spot
where the little pigeon hide from the eagle earlier.

Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)

The swan swooped down in the middle of the resting mallards, what
a "wake up call" I thought. Especially one of the poor mallards
had to flee to avoid being crushed underneath the swans weight.
The rest of the mallards did not even react, they just kept on
sleeping despite of the intruder.