Friday, 5 May 2017

My Daughter and I had a ride over to Castle Howard in North Yorkshire, a fine building with extensive grounds and lakes. My Daughter is interested in country houses and castles whereas I was just there for the wildlife , and unfortunatly there wasn't a great deal of it.
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) there was quite a few on the big lake, but I found this one tucked away on one of the smaller lakes,
very obliging I  wonder how many eggs she is sitting.
How many worms and grubs can a Blackbird (Turdus merula) cram into its beak,? answer, a lot.


obviously somewhere near by there was a nest full of hungry chicks.

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36 comments:

  1. Bas.5 May 2017 at 11:43

    Heel mooi Gordon,nu maar wachten op de jonge zwaantjes.

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    1. Gordon5 May 2017 at 17:28

      Thank you for looking in, yes it would be nice to see the young ones.
      Thank you again, Gordon.

      Delete
  2. Bob Bushell5 May 2017 at 16:50

    Your daughter will comes to adore them, I hope. Beautiful Mute Swan sitting on her nest, and the Blackbird, is on its duty collection gathering worms.

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    1. Gordon5 May 2017 at 17:25

      Thanks Bob, yes she's getting there slowly.
      Take care, Gordon.

      Delete
  3. Hootin Anni6 May 2017 at 11:33

    I would be right there with BOTH of you --castles AND wildlife! Seems to me you saw some awesome birds. I would love to see swans in the wild....here, for me, it's just in zoos.

    I'm here from Eileen's Saturday Critters today, visiting you. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Gordon6 May 2017 at 13:22

      Thanks Anni, it was a good day,being with my Daughter was more precious than anything else.
      Take care, Gordon.

      Delete
  4. Lea6 May 2017 at 12:33

    Lovely swan! The Blackbird sure is a good provider for its family
    Have a wonderful week-end!

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    1. Gordon6 May 2017 at 13:25

      Hi Lea, thankyou for that, it was amazing watching how much the blackbird could cram into its beak.
      All the best, Gordon.

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  5. Anonymous6 May 2017 at 14:10

    The swans are so pretty. I wish you a nice weekend.

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    1. Gordon6 May 2017 at 15:17

      Thank you for that Mildred, and the same to you.
      Gordon.

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  6. Marleen6 May 2017 at 14:57

    There is young life everywhere nowadays. Wonderful photos of the swan, Gordon. Even sitting on the nest she is so graceful. And I love watching blackbirds, having their beaks already full and still jumping on the grass to ´invite´ a worm to come up.

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    1. Gordon6 May 2017 at 15:19

      Yes Spring is one of my favourite times of the year.
      Take care, Gordon.

      Delete
  7. JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes)6 May 2017 at 15:03

    Great shots - love the swan posing - and the blackbird with its worms.

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    1. Gordon6 May 2017 at 15:20

      Thank you for looking JoAnn, and Take care, Gordon.

      Delete
  8. Rajesh6 May 2017 at 17:23

    You have spotted lot of beautiful birds.

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    1. Gordon7 May 2017 at 09:50

      Thank you Rajesh. when you have a subject like the Swan it makes it easy.

      Delete
  9. Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie6 May 2017 at 18:22

    Oh, the swan is so beautiful - but the beak full of worms and grubs - not so much! Haha! Great shots! x Karen

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    1. Gordon7 May 2017 at 09:47

      Hi Karen, oh I don't no so much, a little salt and pepper, go down a treat.
      Take care, Gordon.

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  10. Judy Biggerstaff6 May 2017 at 20:24

    Nice to see your shots of the mute swan. Such a beautiful bird. I have lots of those blackbirds, wish mine would fly to someone else's yard.

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    1. Gordon7 May 2017 at 09:45

      Thank you for looking in Judy, I think you have quite a few species of Blackbird in the US, plus the notorious Grackle, LOL.
      Take care, Gordon.

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  11. Nancy Chan7 May 2017 at 09:56

    I would enjoy the country homes and castles and birds too. Both the swan and blackbird make good mothers. Have a blessed Sunday!

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    1. Gordon7 May 2017 at 11:16

      Thank you for looking in Nancy, and take care, Gordon.

      Delete
  12. Lois7 May 2017 at 22:36

    I like seeing the swan on its nest. She is definitely posing for you!

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    1. Gordon8 May 2017 at 09:56

      Thank you for looking in, yes she was a fine subject.
      Thank you again Gordon.

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  13. Stewart M8 May 2017 at 11:52

    A nice tea of fresh worms for someone! Delicious!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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    1. Gordon8 May 2017 at 12:10

      Thank you for looking in Stewart, and all the best, Gordon.

      Delete
  14. Klara S8 May 2017 at 19:32

    Very pretty pictures of blackbird and wonderful shots of swans.

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    1. Gordon9 May 2017 at 09:50

      Thank you for looking in, and have a good week Gordon.

      Delete
  15. NatureFootstep8 May 2017 at 23:12

    a week ago I found a pair of mute swans in one of our small lakes. When I came home and checked the photos I noticed they had two chicks :) So, I now have to go there more often :)

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    1. Gordon9 May 2017 at 09:49

      Thank you for visiting, looking forward to young swan photos. Gordon.

      Delete
  16. Phil Slade9 May 2017 at 08:40

    Greetings from Spain. The Blackbirds are feeding young here too.

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    1. Gordon9 May 2017 at 09:47

      Thanks Phil, send us some warm weather, Gordon.

      Delete
  17. Jenn Jilks12 May 2017 at 20:57

    I love nesting season, as they tend to stay put a bit more.

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    1. Gordon12 May 2017 at 22:52

      LOL. it does help, and also there is lots of activity, thank you for looking in, Take care, Gordon.

      Delete
  18. Sallie (FullTime-Life)13 May 2017 at 17:53

    I like a combination of wildlife and touristy things....nice bird pictures, even if you thought you didn't see too much, the ones you were able to photograph are great.

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  19. Gordon20 May 2017 at 10:00

    That is very Kind of you to say so Sally, sorry for the delay in responding , been away.

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A big thank you to everyone for looking in and leaving their comments, much appreciated, Gordon.

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