At Cussen Park in Tatura yesterday morning I saw a Welcome Swallow in the
middle of the main pond. I didn't see it go in, but I assume one of the
hundreds there had swooped a bit low and gone in.
It appeared to be able to easily keep its head above water, and was able to
swim quite quickly, but was completely unable to control its direction.
Several times it came quite close to some branches it could have climbed onto,
but ended up circling away.
I was too far away to see how it was swimming, but it appeared to have possibly
been flicking its tail. One wing occasionally flapped above the water, so it
may have been moving the other one to swim, which would explain the circling.
A Little Black Cormorant approached, then twice dived and surfaced close enough
to grab it, but each time backed off, alarmed at this unfamiliar thing in the
water. Or maybe it recognised an ancient ancestor of itself making its first
attempts to become aquatic. (Just joking - no idea how they're related.)
After 5 minutes it was getting blown close to shore, but had reached a spot
sheltered from the wind and was just going in circles. I walked around for a
look and couldn't see it any more - presumably it had drowned or managed to
climb out somewhere.
Peter Shute
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