Only in Dublin - walking a swan back to it's home

On Thursday evening Enid and I passed a little group of people (3) with a swan - walking along on a not too busy Dublin road.

So we decided to get out to see what was the story and if we could help (and to get some photographs also!!).

We walked along with the group - it was so funny, it was a bit like the film Forest Gump - where Forest is running and there are different people joining and running with him for a while and then leaving and being replaced by other people joining.

And seeing a swan in the middle of an old Georgian Dublin street was just so cute and funny!!!



The swan himself was "okay". He was not distressed and did not seem phased by all the attention or the traffic.  He was a little tired it seemed and sat down for a rest every now again.  He was a young swan because he still had some of his grey feathers mixed in with his white feathers.  Sometimes he seemed unsure of walking e.g. getting up on the kerb but I think was just because he was tired.  He also didn't walk in a straight line(!) and was walking on the path and then in the middle of the road at times(!)

He was very docile and placid which was helpful...sometimes you hear of swans being very aggressive.



How did he get on the road?

The guy in the hi-viz jacket was  leading the "escort".  Apparently two of his friends found the swan on Pembroke street during the day so they took him into the guy's basement.  He rang the guards/police (Gardai Siochana) but they didn't want anything to do with it.  He then rang some bird/animal rescue places etc but they earliest they would be able to help was the next day.  So he figured he would wait for the evening and try escort him back to the canal.  Which is where we all came in the story.  Fair play to him, plus the hi-viz jacket was great but really I don't think he could have done it without other people's support - alerting traffic/standing behind/beside the swan pointing him in the right direction.



Anyhoo final outcome was we got the swan to the Grand Canal!  But he decided he just wanted to sit on the waters edge and eat grass instead of getting into the water.  We all kind of wanted to see him in the water but after 10 minutes with him at the canal we agreed there was nothing more we could do so we left him there.



It was a really nice "community"type of adhoc thing to be part of :-)