Mute swans moulting
Photos: Arne Ader
Translation: Liis
Mute swan feather.
| Mute swan |
Kühmnokk – luik
|
Cygnus olor |
The shallow waters of Estonia’s western seacoast and its broken coastline with numerous islands and islets provide waterfowl with plenty of safe feeding grounds for their moulting period. Mute swans started gathering for moulting in July, surely already noticed by nature enthusiasts: around the Väinameri Sea bays and islands, the coastal waters of Saaremaa, the Kihnu Sound, but also around the islets and islands in the open sea.
On August 21, however, the peaceful period ends, and waterfowl hunting starts.
Autumn migration, for those mute swans that migrate, starts in August and generally lasts until the middle of October. As in spring, the autumn migration is concentrated to the coastal waters of West Estonia; for the eastern migrants the stopping place is Lake Peipus.
Moulting mute swans. Matsalu Bay.
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