Figure 1 – Courting swans on the pond at the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge, Sudbury, MA, April 21, 2019. (c) DE Wolf 2019.

I am finally making it back, with some regularity, to the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge and wanted to share this photograph of two mute swans (Cygnus olor), necks intertwined, in their courting dance. So beautiful, and such a privilege to see. Definitely there are shades of Anna Pavlova and Saint-Saens Le Cygne! It is, in fact, a privilege to be able to see that old footage as well. The world stops and you are mesmerized by the love dance of these graceful creatures, made all the more poignant by the simple fact that they have danced in this way for millennia. We are truly blessed by the swans and by the wild places.

Canon T2i with EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens at 275 mm, ISO 1600,  Aperture Priority AE Mode, 1/2500th sec at f/6.3 with -1 exposure compensation.