Wednesday 12 September 2007

Renewing the life cycle- # 228

A few weeks ago I showed this view in the fog: http://richmonduponthamesdailyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/08/ham-pond-and-gordon-house-in-fog-210.html

The important thing about this shot is the swan.

For several years two swans occupied the pond and reared successfully reared their young. Last year a fierce dog killed the mother swan and some cygnets. The father reared the remaining cygnets single handed, taught them to fly, and remained alone unable to attract a new mate. He pined away and died early this Summer. The pond remained empty.

Suddenly a new swan has appeared to occupy the vacant pond. Here he is. He has been around for several weeks and hopefully he will attract a mate, and so next year we will have swans on the pond again......


8 comments:

  1. Beautiful picture!
    In "my" park, there was a couple of black swans, alsways together. Since a few weeks only one left. Did they divorce or did something even worse happen? I'm really worried about the "swan future" in the park.

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  2. Absolutely fabulous!
    First signs of autumn, glassy water, a perfect swan - wonderful picture.

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  3. What a beautiful scene this is and a poignant story!

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  4. Thank God for that. Such a sad story has a bright future for the pond and the Swan. I hope a mate comes along soon.

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  5. Nice pic. The story is a sad one, although it does provide a good lesson in resilience in the face of adversity.

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  6. It's sad. There is something fascinating about Swans that makes them stand apart form other animals and birds. Don't know what it is but just reading the role of swans in mythology and folklore on wikipedia gives you some idea

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  7. Life goes on and the papa did his job (sad to say, better than many human counterparts, apparently). Could this new swan be one of the cygnets? Aside: there must be leash laws for dogs in the UK, right?

    The place looks lovely, and I had recognized it right away as the one with the fog-and-flash photo.

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  8. Sad on the one hand and hope for the future swan family on the other. I've read that swans are very faithful to their life partner.

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