So there we were driving along the short cut by the estuary, (the one that they are trying to make into a wildlife haven by grubbing out the reed beds and chopping down all the trees!), when we were ambushed.The first one jumped from on top of the embankment walkway directly in front of the car and just stood there looking at us. Ten minutes later it was still there ignoring my toots and only moving back a foot or two when I slowly pulled forward before looking me in the eye, standing its ground, and daring me to move again.
'Maybe you should get out and shoo it off.' Suggested Gaynor.
She had to be joking, everybody knows a swan can break your arm with a single flap of its wing. Everybody knows that as soon as you get within six feet of a swan you are in mortal danger and people will begin to shout; 'Get away or it will break your arm with a single flap of its wing!'
.
Everyone knows - I've never actually seen it happen though (and the same thing goes for taking eyes out and paper planes).
After fifteen minutes of waiting I decided to reverse the half mile down the single track road to the turning and not bother with the short cut. I glanced in my rear view mirror... there was another one behind us. We were trapped! Five minutes later and four swans had strategically positioned themselves around the car making it impossible for us to escape. We were surrounded, we were there for the duration... and then we remembered the bread in the boot.
Luckily you can reach into our boot from inside the car by dropping the back seat. Holly reached in, grabbed the french bread we'd bought for lunch, and we all proceeded to break it into small chunks. Then we threw it as far as we were able away from the car through the open car door windows hoping to lure the swans away.
.
It worked! The swans waddled off after our bread and we got the hell out of there before they changed their minds.
.
We were lucky this time, we avoided the swan gang. But who knows, maybe next time it'll be our swan song.
I ate swan in Finland once. It was delicous. Can't do that in the UK the queen owns them all.
ReplyDeletefloramcdora Tweeted:
ReplyDeletethought you'd like the decoy duck. Seems like you've been swanning around lately.
Alan Spence e-mailed
ReplyDeleteKiller Swan's! Swan's have been known to kill particularly if adult swans are protecting their young Signets. Swan's have regularly been reported for attacking and killing dogs, cats,ferrets, weasel's and even sheep. The last record in the UK of a human fatality
related to a swan attack was in the 70's. Two Swan's attacked a man who had approached some signets. The man panicked and drowned in the river trying to get away. However in the middle ages there are several records of humans being killed by Swans.
It is generally thought that Swans were often predated by humans for their eggs and young swans frequently poached. Swans have only had Royal protection since Elizabeth the 1st's time. Although several Monarchs before had protected Swans by royal charted as far back
as Athelstan King of Wesex, High King of the Saxons.
Alan
Glynne Kirkham Tweeted:
ReplyDeletewatch out they can break your arm.
Am I the only one that would have run it over?
ReplyDeleteYes Liz you are
ReplyDelete