'Tis the season

[Rassie]

Spring is in the air, and the Mute Swan and his lady are scoping out a series of ponds for a nesting site.
Over a period of half an hour the swan repeatedly went after and chased off a Canada Goose couple who wanted to share the same pond.
The body language of the swan was something to see. It would swim fast towards the goose and keep going until the goose took off, swan in close pursuit. Once the goose was on its way the swan would return to its lady, only to have the goose fly a circuit and return, landing nearby in the same pond again. I almost felt exhausted for their part just watching the scene.

Z6II, Nikkor 200-500mm F/5.6, TC-14E III, 1/500 sec, ISO 100, F/8.

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And sometimes the lady swan would also get in on the action.

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[RichF]

Wonder who will win the in the end. Nice images, keep them coming and let us know who wins.

 

[Gaduf]

Good to be out there and capturing the interaction Koos,
Thanks for sharing,
Gavin

 

[Rassie]

Good to be out there and capturing the interaction Koos,
Thanks for sharing,
Gavin

Thanks, Gavin. First half decent day we had so far this year to be out there without freezing your buns off.

 

[ssheipel]

Nice!!

 

[NorthernFocus]

It's amazing how territorial they get about there nests. The geese treat the ducks the same way. In nature size definitely matters.

 

[Rassie]

It's amazing how territorial they get about there nests. The geese treat the ducks the same way. In nature size definitely matters.

Not that I feel any sympathy for the little guy here, I'm rooting for the swan. I don't think I've ever come across a more aggressive, obnoxious bird than the Canada Goose. I love to loathe them. Some schadenfreude here to see them getting bullied for a change.

 

[ssheipel]

Not that I feel any sympathy for the little guy here, I'm rooting for the swan. I don't think I've ever come across a more aggressive, obnoxious bird than the Canada Goose. I love to loathe them. Some schadenfreude here to see them getting bullied for a change.

I'm not a spokesperson for Canada Geese I don't blame any animal for it being invasive and thus destructive to its new environment, but Mute Swans are often described as THE most aggressive of water fowl and responsible for killing smaller ducks and geese, and so much so that in some areas putting those other birds's numbers at risk. Invasive (introduced to beautify city parks in the 19th C) they are responsible for considerable destruction of wetlands and accompanying ecosystems; they pull aquatic plants up to eat them and pull out an equal amount without eating it -- up to almost 20 pounds total a day, each adult! I've spent a lot of time on Long Point Bay (Lake Erie) and the conservation groups used to have (likely still do) maps showing the retreat of wetlands attributed to Mute Swans. As for Canada Geese, any bird that pisses off golfers is a friend of mine LOL

 

[Rassie]

I'm not a spokesperson for Canada Geese I don't blame any animal for it being invasive and thus destructive to its new environment, but Mute Swans are often described as THE most aggressive of water fowl and responsible for killing smaller ducks and geese, and so much so that in some areas putting those other birds's numbers at risk. Invasive (introduced to beautify city parks in the 19th C) they are responsible for considerable destruction of wetlands and accompanying ecosystems; they pull aquatic plants up to eat them and pull out an equal amount without eating it -- up to almost 20 pounds total a day, each adult! I've spent a lot of time on Long Point Bay (Lake Erie) and the conservation groups used to have (likely still do) maps showing the retreat of wetlands attributed to Mute Swans. As for Canada Geese, any bird that pisses off golfers is a friend of mine LOL

Now I've learned something new again. Ididn't know that about the Mute Swans. Seems I'm going to have to loathe both them and the Canada Goose.