Thursday 25 July 2013

Abbotsbury Swannery, Dorset

The Swannery was certainly a most interesting place to visit
Established by Benedictine Monks who built a monastery at Abbotsbury during the 1040's a.d.
The Monks farmed the swans to produce food. 

The birds are all free-flying and this is a sanctuary and not a zoo and is the only place in the world where one is able to walk through the heart of a colony of nesting mute swans




What are you doing down there old girl!


Each family (Swans mate for life) has their own compound until the young are ready to fend for themselves


Here it is feeding time and the public are able to help with the feeding


The Canada Geese come and join in at feeding time and enjoy the party





Lots of nesting going on in the reeds








Solace



a good way to get around


Hope you enjoyed this interesting site
These photos are taken on Alan's pocket digital - I had actually forgotten my camera - can you believe that.
At this point Alan's battery had run out as he had not charged it up so before continuing our day (visiting the Sub-Tropical Gardens and Chesil Beach) we decided to drive back to the cottage (30 minutes each way) to retrieve my camera and I am glad that we did



9 comments:

Bernideen said...

How amazing. We rarely see swans anymore. Not sure why. They are lovely!

Elizabethd said...

What lovely photos. Cygnets always look so sweet and defenceless. A fascinating place to visit.

Lori Zehr said...

Very pretty!

Gracie Saylor said...

Thanks so much for sharing the wonderful photos from your latest adventure, Barbara! I'm glad Alan had his digital camera along, too :) I enjoyed learning more about swans and their habitat. When we lived on the west bank of the Hudson River we were hiking down near the Saugerties Lighthouse. A swan took off and flew low, directly over our heads. As his wings flapped he made a sound that reminded me of an accordion...such an exciting experience! And all that you showed us is exciting as well! I especially love the little one hitching a ride with Mum :) God's amazing creation!
Gracie xx

Needled Mom said...

Wow!!! That is a lot of swans. They are beautiful and I love the one of the little one sitting on the back.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful. Lovely seeing so many together in one place.

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

What an interesting place. I did not know that swans form such large colonies when given the chance. They are lovely.

Cheri said...

Wow! I loved this post!

Vee said...

I very much enjoyed the swannery. The photos came out beautifully. Always good to have a back-up. I enjoy visiting a blogger who often photographs swans on the lake in her Florida town. She just mentioned last week that the swans were a gift to her community from Queen Elizabeth. Very interesting!