The Story
On March 28, 2018, I photographed this Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) at the Zhangye National Wetland Park in Zhangye, Gansu, China. The black swan breeds mainly in southeast and southwest Australia. It is a large waterbird with black plumage and a red bill. It was introduced to other countries as an ornamental bird in the 1800s and is a popular bird in parks and collections. IUCN lists the species as Least Concern. Zhangye’s wetlands are a stopover on the Central Asian flyway, one of the world’s major bird migration routes. The Zhangye National Wetland Park was established in 2009 on the edge of the city and covers about 4,600 hectares.
I used a Pentax K-1 and the HD PENTAX-D FA 150-450mm F4.5-5.6ED DC AW for this one, at 1/800 sec, f/7.1, ISO 400. The wetland’s managers are working to restore habitat that farming and falling water tables have degraded.
©2018 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) belongs to the family Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2018), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List