Busking swan...

I have spent a lot of time walking and shooting over the past few weeks, so this afternoon's session results at the end of a bike ride. The glorious weather continues and I cycle to Poole Park, Dorset, with a super-telephoto lens. I was last at the location two weeks ago, photographing Greylag goslings, and I am amazed to see how much they have grown in that time.

But it is the Mute Swans that I have come to see and photograph on this occasion, and in particular, their young. Of the three nests that I am aware of, two have produced young, whilst the third still has five unhatched eggs. I spend a while photographing the recently hatched cygnets, but photogenic as they are I instinctively know that none of the shots are working. Instead, I turn my lens to one of the proud parents, seen here displaying with wings half raised - known as busking - to mark its territory and warn off any would-be threats.


300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor. 1/2500 second at f/5.6. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 200


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