Home › #animals › POND IN NORTHBRIDGE – SWANS IN MAY

POND IN NORTHBRIDGE – SWANS IN MAY

By on • ( 21 )

It was just seven in the morning and there was a roaring in my backyard. I looked out to see the turf people spraying for ants and crawlies — and hopefully not damaging anything else. It’s pretty hard to spray for one pest without harming another, but with the influx of Gypsy Moth caterpillars, we don’t have a choice. If we don’t take care of them, they will definitely, without question, take care of us.

If you look carefully, you can see the nested swan on the opposite shore

Today is a dark gray day with torrential rains predicted for later in the day … as much as five inches (or more) rain this afternoon and tomorrow. The floods that hit the rest of the country have arrived. I hope our drains, sump, and pump can handle the water.

Thursday was beautiful. Sunny and bright. The trees were blooming and buds were bursting or just about ready to do so. We grabbed cameras and went out. I had wanted to go to Manchaug, but I have temporarily forgotten how to get there. Instead, we wound up by the pond in Northbridge. There were swans. Two big ones, a mated pair.

I could see the nest. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a camera with a super long lens, so I could only shoot it from a distance. Garry got a ton of pictures too and I’ll put them up in a separate post.

I always forget to bring food for the swans. They must get fed by people. With a bit of food I think they would happily come home with us. You can never call a swan “friendly.” They aren’t really friendly beasts, but they can get pretty chummy if they think there’s a snack available. Not surprisingly, this behavior is familiar to us. We know begging when we see it, whether doggy or orange beak.

There was a lot of trash along the shoreline. Shame on you! Haven’t we got enough problems without trashing our own homes? All you tossers of beer bottles and junk food boxes and cups, CLEAN UP YOUR ACT. No one needs your trash. It makes me sick looking at it.

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Categories: #animals, #Birds, #BlackstoneRiver, #gallery, #Photography, Ecology, Swans and herons

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21 replies

  1. DailyMusings
    05/07/2017 • 08:50

    Such beautiful captures of these beautiful creatures. It infuriates me when I see garbage piling up in creeks and along trails. What is wrong with people????

    Like

  2. Judy @ NewEnglandGardenAndThread
    05/06/2017 • 17:36

    If only we, humans, would consider every day ‘earth day.’

    Like

  3. swo8
    05/06/2017 • 10:50

    The swans look so graceful, outstanding photos.
    Leslie

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  4. slmret
    05/06/2017 • 01:20

    Amazing shots of the swans. They’re such beautiful birds — are they as aggressive as geese?

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    • Marilyn Armstrong
      05/06/2017 • 01:24

      Not with people. They are VERY aggressive with geese — who are equally aggressive to them. Geese and swans are natural enemies. No love lost and they do NOT share the same nesting areas. There are wars about it as the geese try to move in and the swans fight back

      The swans get pretty friendly with people. They like getting fed.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. angloswiss
    05/06/2017 • 01:01

    Great close-ups of the swans. We have many on the local river. At the beginning of Spring they were everywhere, but now they have disappeared, probably busy now hatch their eggs. We never feed them as they find quite a lot of food in the river.

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    • Marilyn Armstrong
      05/06/2017 • 01:13

      I have often been warned to NOT feed them, but obviously, they get fed by other people. They walk right up to you and practically rifle your pockets. I’ve had to back up. They really BEG. This time of year, there’s more than enough food. The winter is another problem. Yes, they will be feeding the babies in a few weeks. I think they’ve laid the eggs by now.

      Liked by 1 person

      • lwbut
        05/06/2017 • 04:03

        Lovely shots, Marilyn. If you’re going to feed them feeding them human food is probably not the best idea. Throwing bread in the water is the worst idea as uneaten crumbs go mouldy and promotes botulism! Their natural diet includes underwater plants and shoots, algae, riverbank grasses, small insects and occasionally grains from farm fields. Maybe a handful of grain (corn, maize) in the pocket the next time you visit? 🙂

        As for the trash – in Aus we started Clean Up Australia Day 27 years ago. This has since grown and grown and is now simply Clean Up Australia since just doing it one one day of every year didn’t really get the message across to the losers who chuck their junk anywhere they feel like. The idea is a bunch of people get together and pick up the junk and also help raise awareness so less crap gets carelessly tossed.

        It reduces some, but by no means all, but every little bit helps. 🙂

        love.

        Like

        • Marilyn Armstrong
          05/06/2017 • 12:55

          We’ve had “clean up” in place for more than 30 years. There are always idiots who ignore it. I particularly hate it down by the water.

          I do know about bread and birds, but I don’t have any roots or underwater plants to offer, so I don’t offer anything. But those birds really WANT FOOD. And swans are really BIG. When they get insistent, that’s a lot of bird being insistent.

          Liked by 1 person

          • lwbut
            05/08/2017 • 05:24

            It’s bad enough when you have a couple of swans to deal with. A tourist spot near my home is famous for it’s Black Swans and there can be up to 50 surrounding you at a time! takes some courage to say no to those freeloaders! 😉

            love.

            Like

      • Garry Armstrong
        05/06/2017 • 12:34

        I cannot wrap my brain around people who sullen Mommy Nature’s offerings. A bright, spring day. The shimmering pond. The swans gracefully navigating the pond with ripples in their path. And, then refuse just dumped at the pond’s edge. Refuse which floats out into the water leaving scum. Disgraceful!!

        Liked by 1 person