Photo-a-Day  (Sunday, 12th March, 2023)

Nice photo of a swan Mike, and a nice sky too. The swan has got a mucky neck, what's he been up too, hope he hasn't been near to Gargantua and been mistaken for a goose.
https://davelearningstuff.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/geese-are-the-optimal-tool-for-wiping-your-arse/

My sister once had a house on Rushdene that backed onto this flash and decided to keep four geese, she was shocked when swans were getting onto the backs of the geese and holding them under the water and actually drowning them. I know swans can have a hissy fit when protecting their young, especially when humans go too near, but I too was shocked at hearing of it, I'd always thought of swans being ever so graceful looking and communal with other waterfowl, but not so, and swans drowning goslings, geese and ducks etc., is quite a common occurrence. https://www.avforums.com/threads/swans-killing-other-waterfowls-young-update-now-geese-killing-ducklings.2235471/

Two videos on youtube.

https://youtu.be/Fud2rvU7q4E

https://youtu.be/ZQSGlhwZOYY

Mike,that's an absolutely beautiful shot of a beautiful bird...and thank you.

What a pleasing sight to see on a Sunday morning. Such a clear photo, calm water & a beautiful creature
Thanks Mike.

Swan - a good sales brand, Swan Vestas matches and Swan kettles.
Excellent photo. Intelligent birds - may have its own agent next time! Crypto or cash sir?

What a lovely scene. It makes you think of warmer days to come with people going out for a stroll.

Lovely photo ..picture of elegance and serenity. Thanks for posting it..

Well Cyril,I never knew that they could be so cruel,it doesn't go hand in hand with the beauty that they display does it? I saw a photo the other week of a man that had nursed a swan after some yobs (for want of a better word) decided to throw stones at it,this particular swan would wait to see this man then curl itself around his neck..it truly loved this man..so for them to show cruelty as well as love doesn't somehow go hand in hand does it ?although it does appertain to mankind.

I wonder if the swans were ‘protecting’ their territory and their young Cyril. Although in the park at Wigan there’s a variety of wildlife all around the the ‘duck pond’. They seem to mix well. Perhaps they just didn’t like the geese trying to take over. They are strong those swans and their weight on a geese’s back would have been fatal for them. There would have been a reason they were doing that to the geese I bet.

Just to add to Maureen's comment. Did anyone see the Indian item on the BBC news a a couple
of days ago ? A young man nursed a large stork back to health after he found it with a broken leg....now it follows him everywhere ...even when the lad rides his motorbike, the stork flies along with him. A lovely story for a change.

Helen,I knew it was coming on and I really looked forward to it but..a friend called and so I missed it,I would loved to have seen it.

I can remember feeding swans when I was young and folk saying “Be careful they’ll break your arm”when swans approached.

That’s a lovely story Helen. I find if you treat an animal lovingly you get back far more love in return.

Yes, Veronica, they could be territorial and just defending what they see as their territory. The programme about the Indian heron should be on BBC iPlayer for a time Maureen.

Forgot to mention about Gargantua and the goose neck that it was on an episode of QI with Stephen Fry. Episode 2 "G-Animals" Topics
In the book Gargantua by Rabelais, it is suggested that a goose would be a good alternative to toilet paper. Copied from here, and it is a more cultured explanation than the one on the davelearningstuff website for Dave Channel.
https://qi.fandom.com/wiki/G_Series

Thank you very much Cyril.

I think geese are able to swim underwater so they should have been able to escape easily from the swans.

They wouldn't be able to escape if the swan was holding it's head under.

My best buddies them there swans.

You would think the geese would dive down to escape, but like Iran says maybe they're being held, the swans must know the geese etc., would drown if held under water, also a programme a few weeks ago was showing a pack of killer whales on the hunt for food who then prevented a minke whale from surfacing to breathe until that drowned, they then set about devouring it. So it must be in the nature of certain animals when they're when wanting to feed or whatever to know that air breathers would drown.

I was watching David Attenborough’s documentary on Sunday night showing how seals were drowned in the same way Cyril. I didn’t know seals can sleep when they are in the water. It was a seal pup that was caught by a pod of whales … it was quite sad really. But it’s nature …..

I don't think a swan would manage to hold a seal's head under water for very long. A seal is a lot bigger than a swan and so is a walrus.

Whatever moron is transposing the letters on mine and Veronica's names to add these bogus comments must be very short of something to do. Pathetic!

Mr Robots, you won't find seals or walruses on Scotmans Flash so the geese and the swans are safe there. They only have the pike to worry about.

Can’t think where the robot got the idea that a swan would hold a seal under the water!
I was talking about a seal pup being caught by a whale pod… as per David Attenborough’s documentary.

He can change his name as many times as he wants but he can’t change the disagreeing tone of the comments. I have a good idea who it is - Mr All Knowing would suit him better..