Today’s Photo Friday is entitled: Wildlife – chosen by Tall Chick

Follow the links below for other entries
(I will add the links as the entries come in!):
When Tina suggested the topic of Wildlife, I knew mine would be all about birds. In fact I love wildlife of every sort but living by the coast I do find I take a lot of pics of birds of one sort or another. And also, when travelling abroad birds are the most common form of wildlife one sees. So Today, a selection of my personal favourite feathered friends © :

Black Swan at Dawlish, Devon.

Black Swan taken at Dawlish, Devon

Swan at Bicton Park, Devon

Swan on nest, taken in Bruges, Belgium

Seagull in Teignmouth, Devon - taken on the roof terrace of a restaurant where we were eating

Pigeon, taken at the Cafe de Paris, in Monacco, South of France
Photo Friday Advance Diary:
22nd August: Julie’s choice - “Hat Day” (a picture of someone’s hat, that’s funny, pretty, or a self-portrait of us wearing our favorite or funny hat)
29th August: Mrs Nascar’s choice – Old cars (any interesting old cars from rusty scrapheap cars with a bird’s nest under the bonnet, to fabulous vintage or racing cars)
5th September: Author’s choice – Stained Glass Windows (or doors or panels – from cathedrals, churches or any other type of building)
12th September: Author’s choice – Step Inside (Pics of inside your own home: they can be of favourite corners, or things, or windows, or unusual features or just unusual angles of something in your own home)


Alfie: Born (approximately) 1st September 2008 (from Cat's Protection rescue centre)



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My Photo Friday is up…it’s mostly birds also. I love watching birds.
By: spatulahandle on August 15, 2008
at 6:58 am
I love the birds! Great job on those!
By: Tall T on August 15, 2008
at 9:37 am
Great pics and you were able to frame some of these just right! (not that any of the others have anything askew… well, ok, the one from the restaurant is just a tad crooked but the colors are crisp!)
I love Bruges! Have you seen the In Bruges movie with Colin Farrell? the scenes from town are awesome. I hope to visit the swans there again someday. Hey – tell the story of that! well, I’ll do it – a long long time ago, some prince was angry at the town of Bruges (this is the simple version that I remember…) and he was SO angry! that he dictated that the canals must ALWAYS have swans. or else!
By: CuriousC on August 15, 2008
at 10:47 am
I love pics of your birds.
By: iveystory on August 15, 2008
at 11:10 am
CuriousC re ” the one from the restaurant is just a tad crooked” – must have been the booze!
By: Author on August 15, 2008
at 1:33 pm
good answer
By: CuriousC on August 15, 2008
at 3:23 pm
I love the swan on the nest! Sheesh, look how huge the nest is….but again, it fits the bird! Nice job!
By: Julie on August 15, 2008
at 11:05 pm
what great photos. i had no idea that those
ducksswans created nests like those!By: AscenderRisesAbove on August 17, 2008
at 1:38 am
Hi Julie & Ascender,
The nests are fantastic aren’t they? The strange thing is that they build them on the grass in public areas – they make no attempt to hide them or build them in a safe place. The one in the pic above was in the middle of a green park area in the middle of Bruges – where dozens of people stroll every day.
Mind you – only a half wit or a sumo wrestler would go near a nesting swan – they can be very viscious if they feel threatened. Needless to say, being neither, I steered well clear and used a telescopic lens (and managed to blur the photo slightly in the process). Such is life ….. LOL!
By: Author on August 17, 2008
at 8:32 am
I have heard that swans, like geese, can be on the viscious side. You got great pictures, even if that wasn’t the case. I’m not sure I’d get that close to a bird that could probably snap my fingers off! The black swan is gorgeous. Looking forward to the upcoming topics. There are some really good ones!
By: Lou (Linda) on August 18, 2008
at 2:44 pm
Black swans? Haven’t seen one until today.
By: leafless on August 22, 2008
at 6:26 pm
Leafless, the Black Swans (Chenopsis Atrata) are very rare but Dawlish here in Devon is renowned for them.
The black swans of Dawlish were introduced to the town from New Zealand by John Nash, a Dawlish-borne man who emigrated during adulthood but paid frequent visits to the town. The swan has been the town emblem for over forty years.
The black swan is native to Australia and is found throughout much of the south-eastern and south-western parts. It is found on most wetlands, ranging from small well-vegetated freshwater swamps to large, open waters, including bays and inlets. The black swan is fully protected in all states and territories of Australia. The black swan of New Zealand is not native but was introduced from Australia, and is now considered a pest.
In flight, the black swan has a very long slender neck and white flight feathers along the edge of its wings. The flight is slow with slow wing beats, and a high-pitched bugle is often uttered. Male and female have a similar appearance. Juveniles are grey-brown with black tips to the outer white flight feathers, and cygnets are light grey, downy with grey-black bills and feet.
By: Author on August 23, 2008
at 6:51 am