Donau-Auen National Park

Posts Tagged ‘Donau-Auen National Park’

Dog walking in Vienna

Posted in animals, Dog, Nature, Photography, Travel, tagged Canon SX50, dog walking, Donau-Auen National Park, Vienna Austria on May 11, 2017| 2 Comments »

Walking two dogs simultaneously while riding a bicycle? I am not sure that I would try it, but this man in Vienna was somewhat successful in doing so.

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Swans in Vienna in May

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, Travel, wildlife, tagged Canon SX50, Cygnus olor, Donau-Auen National Park, Mute Swan, swan, Vienna Austria on May 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

I was hoping that I would be in Vienna at the right time of the year to see baby swans, but I guess my trip brought me here a bit too early. At the lake at Donau-Auen National Park, I could see one Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) swimming around and wondered if it was alone. When I walked further around the lake, I spotted what appears to be its mate, partially hidden by the vegetation, sitting on a nest.

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Butterflies in Vienna

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged butterflies, Canon SX50, Donau-Auen National Park, Vienna Austria on May 9, 2017| 6 Comments »

As I wandered through the Donau-Auen National Park in Vienna, Austria this past weekend I did not see any large butterflies, but I did spend quite some time chasing several smaller ones. The butterfly species appear to be somewhat similar to the ones that I see in Northern Virginia, but not identical, as was the case with the damselflies that I featured yesterday.

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Damselflies in Vienna

Posted in damselfly, Dragonflies, Nature, Photography, Travel, tagged Canon SX50, damselflies, Donau-Auen National Park, Vienna Austria on May 8, 2017| 1 Comment »

Nature photographers are a peculiar breed of people. How else could I explain why I headed off to the Donau-Auen National Park within hours of my arrival in Vienna, Austria. I am staying in the center of the city, virtually surrounded by historic buildings and monuments, yet I feel more drawn to explore nature than history.

Saturday was a warm, sunny day and I was hoping to encounter dragonflies as I explored some of the areas of the park that I have visited before. It may be a little early in the season or that I was simply not lucky, but in any case I did not encounter a single dragonfly. I was, however, quite fortunate and saw quite a few damselflies. These beautiful little creatures are tiny and elusive and like to hide perch on vegetation, so it is often challenging to get clear shots of them.

I was shooting with my Canon SX50, a superzoom point-and-shoot, which helped me sometimes to get shots without scaring off the damselflies. In some cases, though, it was really tough to get the camera’s focus to lock onto the target.

The shapes and colors of the damselflies are somewhat familiar and may be related to the species that I see at home, but I am not even going to try to identify them. I hope that you can enjoy the delicate beauty of these damselflies that I encountered during my most recent adventures in the national park here in Vienna.

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Swan Lake in Vienna

Posted in Birds, Music, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife, tagged Canon SX50, Donau-Auen National Park, Mute Swan, swan, Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky, Vienna Austria on December 13, 2016| Leave a Comment »

It was not quite as elaborate as Tchaikovsky, but the Mute Swans (Cygnus olor) at the small lake at the Donau-Auen National Park in Vienna, Austria performed their own form of water ballet this past weekend. Here are a couple of shots of the acrobatic moves of one of the swans and an overall view of the “Swan Lake.”

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Swans on ice in Vienna

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon SX50, Cygnus olor, Donau-Auen National Park, Mute Swan, swan, Vienna Austria on December 11, 2016| 11 Comments »

Today I had some free time to wander about in the Donau-Auen National Park in Vienna, Austria.I am visiting Vienna for a few days on a business trip and decided that I did not want to fight the crowds at the numerous Christmas markets in the city.

It was cool and windy and I did not see as much wildlife as I did during a visit there last April. However I did manage to spot a family of Mute Swans (Cygnus olor). Two of them—one adult and one adolescent—landed on ice that had formed on the small lake and they struggled to walk across the slippery surface to reach open water. The adult, who was bright white in color, moved with much more confidence than the dusky-colored youngster, who moved in a cautious and tentative way. I suspect that it was the first time that the young swan had encountered ice.

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Mute Swans in Vienna

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife, tagged Canon SX50, Cygnus olor, Donau-Auen National Park, Mute Swan, swan, Vienna Austria on April 29, 2016| 2 Comments »

During my two walks through the Donau-Auen National Park in Vienna, Austria I encountered Mute Swans (Cygnus olor) in several locations swimming about and foraging for food. Their beauty and grace was remarkable and their white feathers were dazzling—it is easy to see why they have inspired music and ballet. Through the reeds I also spotted a female swan sitting on a nest. I would love to have seen baby swans, but I guess it’s still a bit too early.

As I was doing a little research, I was a bit surprised to learn that Mute Swans are not native to North America—they are an introduced species. I grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts and my earliest memories of swans are the pedal-powered swan boats in the Boston Public Garden. According to Wikipedia, those swan boats have been in operation since 1877.