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Swan and Cygnet 大天鵝 , 小天鵝 オオハクチョウ、小さな白鳥

Writer's picture: Robin YongRobin Yong


Whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus) migrate to Hokkaido, Japan during the winter to escape the cold Siberian Arctic.

The Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) is a large swan, measuring approximately 137 cm to 173 cm (4.5 ft to 5.6 ft) in length. Males are generally bigger than females, with males weighing about 11 kg (24 lbs) and females around 8 kg (17.6 lbs). Their wingspan typically ranges from 200 cm to 300 cm (6.5 ft to 9.8 ft).


In some areas of Hokkaido, hot springs keep parts of the lakes ice-free, providing a vital refuge for the swans.

During the winter months these much loved birds are fed grain by the locals and they quickly lose their fear of people.


I came to Hokkaido during Christmas to see the swans. Conditions for photography are not yet perfect because most photographers come during February when there would be more ice and snow around, so they can get the pictures of swans swimming in the little pockets of unfrozen lake near the hot springs with steam coming up from the misty backgrounds.





Young swans are known as cygnets, from Old French cigne or cisne (diminutive suffix et 'little'), from the Latin word cygnus, a variant form of cycnus 'swan', itself from the Greek κύκνος kýknos, a word of the same meaning.

Whooper swans pair for life, and their cygnets stay with them all winter; they are sometimes joined by offspring from previous years.


I was pleasantly delighted to see some swans resting on the black sand beach. Being a portrait photographer, I captured the birds from top looking down. I photographed a very cooperative adult swan and another very beautiful cygnet and I stitched the photographs together. It is easy to darken the black sand background to achieve a studio-like effect on post processing....



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