The Best Surprise: Catching Whooper Swan Courtship on Camera

One of the best things about being outdoors is that you never know what to expect. Nature always has a surprise up its sleeves, but I was not expecting what happened at the end of a photography lesson I was giving last week. 

I have seen whooper swans flying in groups over the local moorland during migration and you might spot them at wetland trust centres. However, as I was taking a lesson at a local nature reserve, a pair of whooper swans landed in a small body of water and carried out their beautiful courtship behaviour. It was spectacular to witness this unique encounter and I was delighted to be able to capture it and share it with you. 

Here’s my raw footage of these stunning creatures:

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Whooper swans in the UK

The first thing you notice about whooper swans is how big they are. The whooper is the UK's largest swan species and you can recognise it by its yellow and black triangular beak. They really differ from the mute swans that we are used to seeing on our lakes and ponds.

Although they spend their winters here in the British Isles, the vast majority of the population migrates back to Iceland to breed, which is why being able to witness their courtship here was such a pleasant surprise.

Photographing whooper swans

Birds like swans really reflect the light because they are solid white. This means that, if you want to really bring out the texture of the feathers, you need to be careful not to overexpose your shot.

I’d recommend using manual settings with an auto ISO, but making sure you underexpose by at least one stop, or two in brighter conditions.

Be aware of what the light's doing and, ideally, also be aware of what your histogram is doing to make sure that those whites aren't blown out. particularly with swans.

For the exact settings I used to capture this pair of whooper swans, check out the end of the video and good luck spotting these magnificent creatures. 

What a way to end a photography lesson! Here are some of the images I captured: