You see a swan on a body of water with a small ice hole, or on a completely frozen body of water. This does not mean the bird is dying. If the swan has no visible injuries (dislocated wing, plucked feathers, blood) – the bird is fine and will be able to survive the frost.
You see a swan on a body of water with a small ice hole, or on a completely frozen body of water. This does not mean the bird is dying. If the swan has no visible injuries (dislocated wing, plucked feathers, blood) – the bird is fine and will be able to survive the frost.
Do not approach, do not try to catch the swan yourself: it is a strong bird, a swan can seriously injure a person. Your attempts to "help" will work against the swan: the birds will expend energy, which is so important in the cold, on escaping from humans. If the bird has not flown away – it means it is capable of surviving the winter.
The most common myths and misconceptions about wintering swans:
• "They all flew away, and these are left alone"
Year after year, tens of thousands of waterfowl, including several thousand swans, remain to winter in Belarus. Feeding by humans is an unnecessary reason for swans to stay in Belarus and not fly away for the winter.
• "And where will they fly?"
There are enough wintering places in Belarus for all the remaining swans. Birds can find warm treatment facilities even if this "oasis" is a hundred kilometers away, or even more. The bird will find a suitable place itself.
• "The swan is not moving. It's frozen!"
Swans tolerate cold well and can sit motionless for a long time. The bird does not need to shift from foot to foot, pace, and warm up like people at bus stops. If the bird is sitting on the ice or on the bank, tucking its legs under itself – it is simply saving energy. Swans have so much feathers and fat that down jacket manufacturers would envy them! From the outside, it may seem that the bird has frozen into the ice. However, only a few such cases are known, and in all of them, it was about sick or injured birds. Pay attention to obvious signs of injury (plucked feathers, blood, a sticking-out wing). Noticed? Then the bird really needs help.
• "They are flapping their wings. They can't fly!"
Moving the wings does not always mean the bird is about to take off. Swans simply stretch in this way.