Wildlife Wednesday - Black Swan

Today's Wildlife Wednesday is the Black Swan, the bird emblem of Western Australia, which makes me think of Lily Malone :)

We had Black Swans here on our river when we first moved here 6 years ago. Then the river opened up into the ocean (14 months ago) and the swans vanished, or maybe it was before that happened, but it was around then.

But they're back. The river closed up and within a few weeks, the Black Swans were back. So I took some photos for Wildlife Wednesday.

The Australia Museum says that Black Swans pair for life, and that they're the only entirely black coloured swan in the world.

I always think their red beak with a white tip/stripe, always looks painted!

Here's some info from Pizzey (A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia by Graham Pizzey):

Right way up (left) and inverted while feeding (right)

Swans are the largest waterfowl

Their long necks allow them to reach underwater vegetation

Black swans are highly nomadic

They build a nest from a heap of reeds, grasses or weeds, that is 1m to 1.5 m in diameter! They lay 4-7 eggs that are greenish-white in colour.

After breeding, they moult, and become temporarily flightless.

A raft of Black Swans