Oh dear. This poor swan has angel wing, a deformity of the last joint of the wing that causes feathers to stick out from the body instead of lying flat. From the little I've read about it, it's thought it could be caused by too much protein in the diet and this guy swimming in a pond near Driffield was very fond of the white bread being thrown to him by little children. So if you're tempted to feed the ducks and so on chuck them some seeds instead. I've also read that the outlook for birds with this condition is bleak but either there's a lot of this about or this guy has been lurking around Driffield for at least five years since I took the picture below in 2010.
Weekend reflections are here.
He (she?) seems to be doing all right. Animals are so resilient, they adjust to almost anything.
ReplyDeleteYes, bread is not a good food for water birds.
ReplyDeleteHe or she might be a survivor... they do tend to stake out their own territory.
ReplyDeleteHI there - I make small videos about science, and this week I"m making one on what happens to birds when we feed them bread. I'm looking for images of 'angel wing' deformity in birds, and I was wondering if I could use your picture - with credits, and a link to your blog, of course.
ReplyDeleteMy videos are not for profit - essentially a hobby - and I don't have a budget to pay for footage, I will understand if you decline.
Many thanks
Colette Kinsella
Link to last video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP71eVyupUE
I hope you got my email, if not then please feel free to use what you want & good luck.
DeleteAh, the top picture is almost a classic. Keep the head of the reflected swan in the picture and you'd be there. Still, very nice.
ReplyDelete