Crash landing swans safe

Published: October 10, 2006 | 4893rd good news item since 2003

THREE baffled cygnets had to be rescued from the streets of York after they bungled their first attempts at flight.

The confused swans mistook wet roads for rivers and crash landed on to Tadcaster Road and in Strensall – in the middle of the morning rush-hour.

Concerned onlookers coaxed them away from the traffic, and experts from the Yorkshire Swan Rescue Hospital were able to collect them, safe and well.

Dan Sidley, co-founder of the hospital, at Brandsby, near York, said: “This is the time of year when parents start chasing their cygnets away from their territory. For some, it’s their first flight. Until then, many don’t even realise they can fly.
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“After they take off, flying across the city can be quite daunting. Things do go wrong, and they can come crashing down in the strangest places.

“All of the swans in these instances were young birds on their first flight. It was raining heavily that day and swans do tend to mistake wet roads for water. To them, the white line in the road resembles their reflection.”

On Friday morning, three swans were saved by the rescue hospital.

One was rescued from Tadcaster Road, where it had been causing mayhem to passing traffic, and one was picked up from High Street, in Strensall.

A third was collected from Pike Hills Golf Club, in Tadcaster Road.

Len Smith, of York, alerted rescuers to the plight of the swan in Tadcaster Road.

He said: “I saw it on the side of the road, drinking out of a puddle. I didn’t want such a beautiful bird to get squashed or killed.

“I’m really pleased to hear that it’s now safe and well.”

The cygnets were all taken back to the hospital and kept overnight to make sure they suffered no internal injuries. They will soon be released back into the wild.

Published in Animals
See also: www.thisisyork.co.uk