More Baby Birds at Lake Morton
May 21, 2023 - This Mute Swan sat patiently on her nest.... Read more
Mute Swan
 | I hang out on some of Florida’s lakes. My elegant long neck distinguishes me from other birds. Look at how I puff up my wings behind me as I glide along the water! Most Likely Found: In a pond When: Year-Round Where I've photographed: Bok Tower, Fort De Soto, Lake Morton, Other Places Read more: Mute Swan at Cornell Lab of Ornithology Ebird: Mute Swan eBird range |
I have written 33 posts including a photo of a Mute Swan
Swans in Love
April 27, 2023 - Mute Swans The swans are very close to the shore of the lake.... Mute Swans It's starting to get warm, even in the early morning.... Mute Swans Their long necks are graceful as they intertwine and dabble their faces in the water.... Read more
Ducks and Ducklings
April 25, 2023 - All around the shores of the lake, Mute Swans are tending their nests.... Read more
Springtime Fun at Lake Morton
April 19, 2023 - The Black Swans and Mute Swans make nests on the shore of the lake.... Read more
A Foggy Walk around Lake Morton
April 10, 2021 - Three pairs of Black Swans had cygnets in the pens, and a number of Mute Swans were sitting on nests around the lake.... Read more
2000 Posts on catandturtle.net!
August 15, 2019 - ...Wow. This is my 2000th post on catandturtle.net! I started blogging regularly in 2008(ish) to document my cats, our Garden Craze, and the birds in my backyard. Little did I know how much I would come to love nature photography. To celebrate my 2000th post, I picked 12 of my favorite posts from over the […] Read more
Springtime Stop at Lake Morton
April 20, 2019 - The Mute Swans nest in March and April.... Read more
June Morning at Lake Morton
July 12, 2017 - It looks like the City of Lakeland allowed some of the Mute Swan cygnets to grow up on the lake this year.... Read more
Happy Mother’s Day!
May 14, 2017 - Least Tern Mother & Chick Roseate Spoonbill Mother & Baby Black Skimmer Mother & Baby Sandhill Crane Mother & Colt Great Horned Owl Mother & Babies Mute Swan Mother & Cygnet ... Read more
In Search of Swooning Swans at Lake Morton
February 17, 2015 - ...The swans didn't do much swooning for me at Lake Morton, but the new pair of Coscoroba Swans posed for my dad and me. Read more
Small Things to Make You Smile (Lake Morton)
August 6, 2014 - I had read that this year's Mute Swan cygnets, now teenagers, were starting to be returned to the lake.... Halfway around the lake we came across the first young Mute Swan.... Read more
Springtime Walk at Lake Morton
March 12, 2014 - I've seen Mute Swan cygnets and Black Swan cygnets born at Lake Morton, but this will be the first time that the city's imported Black-necked Swans breed.... Read more
Cloudy Morning Walk at Lake Morton
January 15, 2014 - ...Three days after Christmas, the weather forecasters promised us some sun. It was a welcome forecast, as it had been cloudy for days. So I got up early and headed to Lake Morton for sunrise. I hadn’t been there to visit my swans in quite a while. But it was another dull gray day. You […] Read more
Year in Review: Favorite Photographic Moments of 2013
December 31, 2013 - I watched them for over a month until they learned to fly and left me with an "empty nest!" Mute Swan Cygnets I had amazing luck with my Mute Swans at Lake Morton this year.... Read more
Wow! Honorable Mention in NWF Photo Contest!
December 14, 2013 - Yesterday I received this e-mail: Your photo of a Mute Swan Cygnet has won an Honorable Mention in our 2013 National Wildlife Photo Contest. It will appear in a slide show on the National Wildlife Federation’s website in the magazine’s PhotoZone pages in January.... Read more
Mute Swan Cygnets Returned to Lake Morton
September 19, 2013 - Seven of our Mute Swan Cygnets returned to Lake Morton last week.... Read more
Mute Swan Cygnets – Just Another Ordinary Miracle!
June 4, 2013 - On Sunday I visited Lake Morton to photograph what is probably the last Mute Swan cygnet of the season.... Read more
Sunset with my Swans
May 23, 2013 - ...After our less-than-spectacular sunrise at Blue Cypress Lake a few weeks ago, I headed to Lakeland to see my swans. You see, the City of Lakeland takes the cygnets away from their nests almost immediately — sometimes on the same day that they hatch. The City believes that it’s better to raise the babies in […] Read more
Cygnets for Mother’s Day
May 12, 2013 - As regular readers of my blog know, I've been stopping by Lake Morton periodically to monitor the nesting of the resident Mute Swans.... Mute Swans build their big nests of reeds and grasses.... Read more
Cute Babies at Lake Morton
April 21, 2013 - ...The weather was cloudy and rainy on Saturday morning, so I didn’t want to venture miles from my car with heavy camera equipment. I opted for a trip to Lake Morton, where I knew I could find cute babies. I knew I’d be too early for swan cygnets, which probably won’t hatch till late April […] Read more
Swans Nesting at Lake Morton
April 11, 2013 - The beautiful Mute Swans are nesting all around the lake right now.... Read more
Perfect Moment
September 19, 2012 - ...I was going back through my images from the year to prepare my annual Christmas calendars. I came across this one and thought of my friend Kim from the lake, who will soon become a grandmother. This was such a special day, when I met Kim and got to photograph this day-old cygnet on the […] Read more
Gray Icky Morning at Lake Morton
August 26, 2012 - They were a little smaller than the Mute Swans, and not nearly as cooperative.... I have tons of pictures of the Mute Swans, but I can't stop myself from taking more.... Read more
Swan Lake
July 14, 2012 - ...My hubby isn’t the most, um, obsessed about birding. So I had to laugh when he asked me, “are you going back to the Goosey Pond this weekend?” He was referring to Lake Morton and Father Goose…but I had to disagree on his name for the place. I much prefer “Swan Lake!” :) Read more
The Story of a Swan
May 2, 2012 - hi Pam!) who spent the weekend watching over the nest. One of the men dubbed him "Baby Friday," and somehow the name seems to have stuck… Mute Swan Cygnet When I first arrived, neither Mom nor baby were on the nest. Papa was sitting hear the nest, which still contained…... Read more
Black and White Wonderings
April 30, 2012 - As frequent readers of my blog know, we adopted a black and white kitten last year. He's been helping me review my recent images from Lake Morton, and he's a little confused. You see, here's the picture I took of a Black Swan cygnet in early April: …and here's the…... Read more
Preview of Coming Attractions…
April 27, 2012 - ...I had the most incredible day today! I went to Fort De Soto to check out the migrants, and I finally got my first Scarlet Tanager male, along with a ton of orioles, grosbeaks, buntings, and a few warblers. Birders kept telling me that today was a “slow” day in comparison to last weekend’s fallout…but […] Read more
A Walk Around Lake Morton
April 14, 2012 - Last week Rich and I were in Lakeland to judge the Florida State Science and Engineering Fair. We had a great time talking to the students about their projects. Afterward, I twisted Rich’s arm into taking a nice walk around nearby Lake Morton. I wanted to see if the Mute…... Read more
My First Visit to Lake Morton
January 3, 2012 - ...After a quiet morning at the Circle B Bar Reserve on Friday, Dyeyo and I decided to head to Lake Morton. Herman has been telling me about it for ages, and he always knows the good birding places! There were lots of Ring-necked and Ruddy Ducks sleeping on the lake. It was my first opportunity […] Read more
In Search of a Long-Tailed Duck at Lake Davis
November 23, 2011 - I've been reading about the Long-Tailed Duck on Birdbrains, so Rich and I decided to drive over to Lake Davis to see if we could find it. Lake Davis is a small lake in the middle of a downtown Orlando neighborhood. It's very close to Greenwood Cemetery, but I resisted…... Read more
Songbirds at Bok Tower Gardens
May 9, 2010 - ...A rose-breasted grosbeak was recently seen at Bok Tower Gardens, so this morning Rich and I went to bird-watch at Bok. We didn’t see a grosbeak, but we did see some fun songbirds. The first bird we saw this morning was a male Eastern Towhee. He was on the ground, rooting through the grass, digging […] Read more