Skip to content

Stranded swan rescued after pool dries up

Maddy Bull & Tom Oakley
BBC News, Nottingham
Anna Swieczak Swan in a small pool of water left after the hot weather has dried up the lake in Gedling Country Park, Nottinghamshire.Anna Swieczak
The swan was pictured sat in a small puddle of water on Friday

A swan that was stranded in a shrinking lagoon during a prolonged dry spell had to be rescued from a country park in Nottinghamshire.

The swan was pictured in the dry spot in Gedling Country Park after weeks of hot weather caused water levels to drop.

Parkgoer Anna Healey, a planning manager from Gedling, was among several residents who rallied together to ensure the bird was kept safe.

The 35-year-old said they believed the swan was unable to fly but it was relocated to a patch of water elsewhere on Saturday by an animal rescue centre.

A photograph of Anna Healey at the country park
Anna Healey said more needs to be done to help animals during dry spells of weather

She said she was concerned about the impact ongoing warm weather could have on wildlife in the country park.

"It was a sad view on Friday when I came down and he was just sitting there in the mud," she said.

"We believe he was injured last year so he couldn't walk for a while and then he didn't learn to fly so was just left on his own.

"With the water disappearing, he was just left with nowhere to go. With the dry spell I think we just need to help the animals the best we can."

Ms Healey added: "It's not just swans, ducks or the big birds that are impacted, it's also all the other animals; you can see the water snails just lying dead after the water just evaporated."

A dry lake in Gedling Country Park, in Nottinghamshire, on a sunny day.
The pool was completely dried out on Monday afternoon

Nick Godsell-Fletcher, who runs his food truck business outside the country park that overlooks the lagoon, said it was "amazing news" that a new home had been found for the swan.

The 55-year-old, from Sherwood, said: "To watch the pond go down as it has done and to see the swan left on its own - it was heartbreaking.

"Swans mate for life, so now he can go off and now find a partner, because being there on his own he was never going to find somebody.

"It would be nice if there was some sort of irrigation system that was put in - the same as the other ponds - because then at least this would have a chance to fill up with what little water there is."

Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.

More on this story
Related internet links