Magestic creatures in white

Since after these crazy weeks I can probably start have some more free time, it makes total sense restarting my usual posting habits writing about one of my favourite subjects: birds! This week's SMAP theme is free, and since I've revisited my Croatian photo album due to all the Hivefest posts, featuring one of the bird species I saw there seems a good idea.

Not that this species is Croatia-specific, not even near! But they're magestic, no matter where they live.

^{Mute swan - Cygnus olor}

There are a few swan species, but the mute swan is the one native to Europe, and the one we'll usually find. Truth be told, they're almost unmistakable; the orange beak with the black knob on top is one of the ways to distinguish them from other swan species.

I've seen a great number of them while visiting a natural park near Split called Krka. As I arrived, a short boat ride took us through the river to a place near the Stradinski buk waterfall, the park's crown jewel. And that's where i first saw them, strolling around the river margins.

Soon realised they were all over the place: near the margins, in the middle of the river riding the waves caused by the boats... even flying near as if they were boat-chasing!

They didn't seem to mind the boats at all, since there were preening and feeding just a few meters away. Given the amount of tourism in the park, boats are probably common throughout the day.

That gives these magestic creatures a lot of oportunities to do some human-watching too! I wonder if during the mating season some of the smaller boats don't get some attacks if they get near the nests, since swans are highly territorial.

Or if not attacks, at least some loud noises stating their irritation; yes, because although they are called mute swans, they're definitely not mute! For what I researched, the name comes from the fact that they're not as noisy or loud as the other swan species.

Adding birdwatching to waterfall watching is a nice complement, wouldn't you say? ;)

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