Swan Acts As An Icebreaker For The Ducks

The clever muted swan (Cygnus olor) acts as an icebreaker for the ducks as the weather front the #BeastFromTheEast as they call it or Snowmageddon arrives in the West Midlands, England. Not too much snow yet, but the canal is frozen and the waterfowl like the swan and the ducks are in search for some food. The banks of the canal are not totally covered in snow, that is why they are trying to get to the edge of the water in search for some food. As the rest of the world is having a good laugh at the British for panicking over a few flakes of snow and a mere minus 7, for these birds it’s no laughing matter as they’re not really used to this kind of temperature. When the swan starts breaking the ice, the ducks quickly use this opportunity to follow, using the swan as an icebreaker.  Definitely not “lovely weather for the ducks”.  The Swan uses its chest and feet to break through the ice. It’s very unusual to see a swan alone as they’re mostly in pairs. Just a mile down the canal, there are 20-40 swans at the time, but this one choose to be by itself. Well with the ducks. Mute swans are a permanent resident in the UK, they don’t migrate (though they may move around in winter to find better feeding grounds) Mute Swans tend to form large groups on preferred waters, for post-breeding moult. Also, they often congregate on favoured waters during the winter. They are Britain's largest bird and one of the heaviest flying birds in the world.