Photo-a-Day  (Friday, 5th April, 2013)

Aaw what a lovely picture of a cheeky chappie begging for a tasty treat.
What a gorgeous bird he (or she?) is.
It shows just how big these swans really are.
A great photo Ron!

Lovely photo Ron.....nice to see just a tiny bit of snow lingering....cheers!!!

I think I know that swan.

Bet you know all the swans Mick.......and all the ducks......hee hee!!! Cheers, bike man !!!

I know that swan well... he has a crack in his beak and he is very very cheeky !!!! Nearly had an arm and a leg off me !!!

For Liz Conroy
Hi
I just found your photo a day of Porters Wood and left you a message. I will never know how I missed this.
Mick,
Went on a walk through Porters Wood at Midnight last night!!!
I managed to find your videos and walked along so many paths well beloved in my childhood.
Thank you both so very much for that and finally...
Ernest I have answered your question....
Off for my Friday treat of English fish 'n' chips now (YUM.. Atlantic cod, not Panga ...with proper Mushy peas)
tricia

Is it a loaf or a writer?

The Swan

Traveling swiftly across the water
Having no trouble looking attractive
Exploring the shiny silver lake

Sharing its beauty with all trespassers
Wild bird with everlasting grace
Amazingly calm as thousands stare
No animal beats the bewildering swan

FYI - Ernest's comment is an "Acrostic Poem."

Bren old crack beak was on the Photo a Day on Monday, 28th May, 2012

http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/photoaday.php?photo=2012-05-28

Bren and Mick,I can`t see the cracked beak, so how can you say it has one?
Neil, well spotted.

Ernest we can t see the cracked beak on the photo but that swan and its mate are the only ones on that stretch of canal.

Nicely captured, Ron.
I know cracked beak (more like a nick really) and his mate well too. They bring up a brood between Top Lock and Haigh almost every year.
Let's hope they are successful this year.

Tricia, glad you finally found it! :)

Ernest.... It's quite prominent when you get close enough to it.. It is well known on that stretch of the canal.

Bren, I`ve seen Mick`s video and P-a-D so know what the beak is like.
How do you tell which swan is the loaf and which is the writer in this photo?

Earnest, here is a Double Acrostic.

The Swan

Travelling along as a handsome crafT
Hearing only sounds of waterwasH
Eyeing all with a disdainful glancE

Serenely moving with form of greatnesS
Windblown feathers of blinding snoW
Arching neck, a powerful insigniA
Now we know the SwaN

Ernest would you be referring to the cob and pen ?? The cob being the male and the pen being the female.
The male has the big bump on top of the beak, the female doesn't, but you already knew that didn't you ??

Bren, extract from a comment on:-
http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/wildlife/f/901/p/40882/270634.aspx

The "nobble" on top of the bill is often known as the "berry". Sometimes the berry on a mature female can look almost as big as one on a male, and I find it very hard to tell mature females from young un-paired-off mature males like that.

With a pair, it's a bit easier. The cob is a bit larger than the pen, but you have to study hard and see them in a position where you can compare their bodies. If they're out of the water, the cob will have noticeably bigger feet than his mate - much easier to tell. He also stands taller at the "shoulder". If you hear them calling (snorts etc), the cob has a deeper voice.