January 2025
It is that time of the year again when the temperatures drop, water freezes and we get numerous phone calls about swans stuck in the ice.
We appreciate that it is concerning but it is our experience that the birds are not actually trapped by the ice despite appearances.
They are best left alone, do not try to get them to move by sliding things across the ice, if you do disturb them they may cut themselves getting out of the patch of water they have kept for themselves or even skid and injure themselves, which then means they do need help.
This excellent article below was written by Louisa one of our experienced rescuers
Rescuers get numerous calls when the weather is cold and water is frozen, regarding waterfowl being ‘stuck’ on ice. But birds are far, far more adapted to the current weather conditions than mammals!
Swans have 25,000 feathers, which collectively form a complete shell meaning that (unless there is a trauma and feathers are missing) their skin doesn’t actually come into contact with the ice or water at all.
Waterfowl also have a very specialised network of blood vessels within their feet and legs. They have one main artery in their legs which brings warm oxygenated blood from the heart towards the feet, and one main vein which brings cold deoxygenated blood from the feet back up to the heart. Halfway down the legs there is an intricate network of smaller blood vessels, which act to bring together warm blood on its way down to the feet, with cold blood on its way back up to the heart. This creates blood of a perfect temperature which ensures that a) their feet don’t freeze when standing on ice, b) their feet don’t melt the ice and cause the bird to fall through and c) that blood returning to the heart isn’t too cold.
Please KEEP FEEDING swans and waterbirds during the current cold spell, and control dogs around icy water. Panicked waterfowl will flee and skid on the ice, which can cause nasty leg/joint injuries. This creates an extreme challenge for rescuers, trying to get an injured bird off ice, which is dangerous for both the rescuer and the bird.