Black Swan from the Lehigh Valley Zoo in Schnecksville, PA. Taken on my very foggy trip to the zoo on Saturday 12-27-2008.

Black Swans are from 44 to 55 inches with a wing span of 6 feet . The plumage is black, the tips of the wings are white. Immature Black Swans are light grayish brown. Swans molt once a year during which time they are flightless.

The bills are red and white with fine grooves that enable them to feed on underwater plants. Their legs and webbed feet are black. They do not dive for food but are able to reach the plants they feed on with their long necks.

During February through September, the Black Swans begin building their nests. These large birds, who mate for life, often nest in colonies, unlike other swans. The nest is a large affair built of sticks and vegetation. Both birds build the nest.

The female lays 4 to 8 pale green eggs. Both parents tend the nest. The incubation period is about 35 – 40 days. The young swans, called cygnets, are covered with a fluffy gray-colored down that they keep for 3 – 4 weeks. The cygnets can swim soon after hatching and learn to feed themselves. They also may ride on their parent’s back for longer trips into deeper water. The young birds leave the family unit to begin lives of their own in about nine months.

For more information on the Lehigh Valley Zoo, please visit: www.lvzoo.org.

Male Snowy Owl from the Lehigh Valley Zoo in Schnecksville, PA. Taken on Saturday 12-27-2008 during very bad fog conditions, in low light, through a cage (kids, don’t try this at home ! ). There was almost nobody at the zoo and the fog was so heavy, you could barely see a hundred feet ahead of you.

I had never been to this particular zoo before and they recently opened a new African Penguin exhibit so I decided to check it out. No fog can stop me ! :–) For more information on the Lehigh Valley Zoo, visit their web site at www.lvzoo.org.