A shot from my Son’s”best day ever”!
We took a boat trip around the lake at the Mareeba Wetlands, Queensland , Australia, and there were several black swans (Cygnus atratus) gracefully paddling as swans do. I had assumed that all their plumage was pure black and only when these 2 appeared in flight did I see that the front third or so of the wings are pure white, which disappears entirely the moment they touch down.
the background shows a shallow fringe of reeds, Eucalyptus trees and the lighter patches are huge termite mounds
Taken from the boat with the Canon 7D and my favourite Wildlife lens, the Canon 100-400 mm F/4.5-5.6 EF L IS USM Lens
As for me, it has to be one of my best days ever too :0)
PS it is Harvey’s 12th Birthday today, so this ones for him š
MBK Wildlife Photography 
Such beautiful birds. We had a pair on a lake in Hampshire, near my old house in Alresford. They were always popular. Happy birthday Harvey – stay interested in wildlife. If you don’t know it there is a film called Harvey – one of my all time favourites – black and white, starring Jimmy Stewart. Well worth watching.
LikeLike
Hi Andrew. I do know of the film and have promised to show it to Harvey one day – just a question of tracking it down :-). The Black Swans really are such graceful birds. Alresford is a delightful village. I was born in Winchester and grew up in Hook, near Basingstoke. How long ago did you leave the UK?
LikeLike
I have been in HK since 97 except for a few years when I worked in London. I lived in the Winchester area 87-97. My brother lived there maybe 40 years until he died in 2012. He lived in Owslebury most of that time. It’s a great county.
LikeLike
Beautiful birds, great shots too. Happy birthday to your son and have a wonderful week.
LikeLike
Happy birthday to Harvey! I have that same lens and I absolutely love it…stays on my camera body 99% of the time. You got beautiful shots of these graceful birds!
LikeLike
Harvey says thank you ;-). I cannot praise this lens highly enough and have used for insect through to landscapes as well as the wildlife I tend to photograph. I have many lenses, but this one is on the 7D 99.99% of the time š
LikeLike
Oh wow! Stunning photo and stunning birds! Thanks for pointing me here! š
LikeLike
Many thanks – it was wonderful to see them in their element and I did not know about the white wings until I saw them that day :0)
LikeLike