Headed somewhere...

 I would love to know how they decide where to go, and when to go.  

Straight on

 I know this is a bit of a mess, but for some reason I really like it.

Take-off? Landing?

 This is not the same swan as in the previous post.  And I really don't recall if it was taking off or landing or just  exercising a bit.

A bit of action...

 It did not take off, so guess it was only testing its wings.  

Lucky capture

 If you cannot tell, this was a lucky capture...caught on Monday afternoon as I passed through that area on my way to Walmart. 

I am including the video I put over on my other blog.  It is not great, but will give you an idea of the numbers.  What I failed to state above is there were more there Monday than was there the last time, and even more as I came home from Walmart.  

Headed somewhere in flight...

 i I passed through the strip pit/strip mining area again today.  There were still a lot of snow geese, but no good photos came from them.  I attempted a few of swans and this was the best of my efforts.  

Swans

 Not your greatest snap shot, but not the worst either...

Heading for parts unknown

 

Swans from a few years ago...there are some passing through now but I have not been able to be out to photograph them.  Or maybe I should say have not been able to attempt to photograph them.  

Now you see me...

Now you see me...

Now you don't!    (actually, I don't remember if this was the same swan in both photos.)

Watch when the muskrat goes swimming past in the video below....

A flurry of wings....

A flurry of wings leaves this pair behind...

These two shots are of the same pair.

They were not the only ones left behind...just the only pair I tried to shoot.  The others were too far away.

Swans

Along with the Snow Geese, shown in the video in THIS post, we saw a few swans...

Swans from another day...

These were taken a while back...just have to show more shots from that day.

Isn't he beautiful?

Mute Swans....

I think the above is the male...

And this is his little lady.  We were up near Danville, Illinois at the Heron Viewing park.  The water was really up...and the only things close enough for photos were these two swans and a pair of Canadian Geese.

The boardwalk goes out over the water forming a sort of circle.  To begin with the swans were on the outside of the east side of the circle and the geese were in the water in the enclosed part of the circle.  The top swan first chased them to the outside of the west side of the circle.  But it kept swimming right beside the boardwalk...after about five or ten minutes, it took off after them and chased them clear across the wetlands.  You should have heard the noise...partly the flapping of the wings.  Neither the swan nor the geese flew over 3 or 4 feet above the water....then there was the squawking and carrying on.  It was something to witness and hear.

Hope you enjoyed these...I am linking to My Corner of the World....

Today's favorite

Took a minute to turn into the strip pit area and captured a few photos of some swans.  This was my luckiest shot.

From the strip pit area

Fresh from the strip pit area west of here:


Not the best quality...my videos never are.  Still it gives you a feel for what we were seeing.  And this does not do it justice at all.  This is zoomed in....I wish I had started out at normal vision to give you a feel for the size of the place but I will include some pics below.  This is not very long....so it won't take up a lot of time.

How would you like to attempt to count them?  Keep in mind that you are not seeing all the way to the other end.  This strip pit is really long....I thought close to a mile, but then on second thoughts it probably isn't that long.  There are brush/bushes at the end and I cannot get a clear shot through them.  My little P&S camera lacks to capability to set a focus point, and always wants to focus on the brush.

Anyway, the other end was a solid mass of white.  Or appeared that way from the end I was at.

What a sight they were....

I hope you have enjoyed these.

If I can keep it in mind, I will be linking to I'd Rather B Birdin'....also, there are at least a couple more photos over at my Pics & Pieces ....

Not missing the cold...

I know before too long, we will be longing for a little bit of coolness, but for right now, I am glad we are not seeing this.

These photos were from back in January...I don't think I have posted them...

Shooting blind...sort of

It was almost middle of the day when we happened to drive through the strip pit area.  So, I am shooting with my little point and shoot and cannot see the screen...I am just aiming and hoping for a decent result.   The one above, I got a glimpse, but only guessed and shot.   The ones below are totally blind shots.  I would have a better chance of reading in the dark than seeing the screen...

Not too bad...for not seeing what I was shooting...

I was happier with this one.  Look toward the horizon...all those geese on the ground.  I think they are mostly white fronted geese, but not sure.  I think there are some Canada geese mixed in.

This last photo is a cropped version of the one above it.

Swans

There was a pair of Mute Swans up at Heron Park...at first I only seen the one above....but then I looked closer.

 I saw that there were two of them...

They were both preening...

We watched for several minutes and they stayed busy...

With these photos I am linking to I'd Rather B Birdin'

Photo shoot....

We went to the Heron Viewing station north of Danville, Illinois today...there was a pair of Mute swans.  I will share several pics here...

I suggest clicking to expand the view...

A gift from the archives

Had to go back to 2011 to find a photo from Jan 27....I was looking at all the ending dates of January to find a photo that was presentable and one that I had not posted before.