Black Swans

We were driving to town from Richmond Hill Bed and Breakfast and on the canal in the sunshine were this lovely family of Black Swans.   They originate in Australia, but have happily naturalised here, and sometimes on the nearby Estuary there are literally hundreds of them bobbing up and down on the water, resting from the Ocean beyond the Spit.   These parents are very forward in having their Cygnets, because most of the other Swans have much smaller babies.

There was a young couple with a toddler having a picnic lunch very near the Swans, and I was a bit apprehensive for them, as Swans can be very dangerous, but the couple were totally unfazed by the Swan Family.  Such a treat to see the birds so close.