The lives of Geese

In Germany, Austria and Switzerland today for thousands of farmers worry about lead that flock of geese can be a carefree life - day after day, year after year.

The mute swans - world record holder among the water birds

The Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) is the heaviest and largest waterfowl in the world. It belongs to the genus of the swans, they turn to the family of ducks. Mute swans are up to 155 cm long, have a wingspan of up to 2 kg, 20 m and a weight of up to 13. There are hardly any gender-specific features - the only distinctive black bump on the yellowish-red beak is slightly larger in the male. With its long neck, they are able to take food from the river bottom. Adult animals have white plumage, the young swans are colored gray to gray-brown. The life of the stand is sociable birds, even during the breeding season, they stay together in groups. They are very site-faithful, but sometimes lack of food forces them to wander around. Due to the great weight work boot - sometimes clumsily and landing phase, but they are excellent pilots with a flight speed of 60 km / h and with their wings produce a striking singing noise. You see and hear excellent and at risk and you straighten up and flapping their wings.

Originally in Northern Europe, the Baltics and the Black Sea region is home to the mute swans have settled well in more temperate zones of Europe. Northern populations overwinter in southern Europe, northern Africa and Southeast Asia. Mute swans prefer ponds, lakes, rivers, estuaries of great rivers and vast Delta swamps, where they reside primarily in the water. Mute swans feed mainly on aquatic plants and microorganisms in the water, but also small fish, amphibians and insects are not despised. Sometimes you can get groups of swans in the riparian area to feast on grasses and herbs. The animals become sexually mature at three years and mate in March and April - typical courtship behavior with distended wings and swimming is in close contact with each other. The swans are monogamous and remain zuammen a lifetime. Each year there are only a scrim. The nest is in the bushes near the shore, built mostly in shallow water with branches and twigs and lined with feathers.

The female lays five to seven eggs and one day though. Only after dropping the last egg hatching begins, which is mainly done by females. During the 40-day incubation period but also helps the male out occasionally. The chicks are precocial, which go to the water immediately after hatching and feed themselves independently. During this time, they are often the victims of large predatory fish (especially pike). The young birds fledge after only five months, the family unit lasts for approximately one year.