Swan Song by Gill Lewis

Author:Gill Lewis
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781800900301
Publisher: Barrington Stoke Ltd

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Grandad led us into the kitchen and put the swan on the table. He ran his fingers all over it.

“It’s got fishing line wrapped around its neck,” he said. “I don’t think it’s been able to swallow properly for a long time. It’s very thin. I’m surprised it’s still alive.”

Grandad went to find his old notebook. He read the swan’s tag and looked it up in his lists and notes. “This one’s a female. She was ringed in a field seven years ago in a place called Skagafjördur in north-west Iceland.”

“What shall we do?” I asked.

“We’ll take her to the vet,” said Grandad. “Let’s hope the vet can help her.”

Mum drove us all to the vet’s surgery. We had to wait for a while, but then the vet called us in. She examined our swan and cut away the fishing line caught around her neck. Then she did an X-ray to make sure there wasn’t a fishing hook or lead fishing weights inside her.

“She’s lucky,” said the vet. “But she hasn’t been able to eat with that fishing line around her neck. She needs feeding up.”

“We can do that,” said Grandad. “I’ve got an old chicken pen outside. If she’s with us, then she’s within sight and sound of the other swans on the Swan Fields. The Swan Study Group can give us advice.”

The vet nodded. “Sounds like a good plan.”

Back at Grandad’s house, Elsie and I helped him get the chicken pen ready. We put straw down on the ground and a bowl of water.

Grandad built a wooden shelter for the swan. “Birds make an oil from a gland at the base of their tail,” he said. “They spread it over their feathers to waterproof them. If they’re ill, they can’t do this so well and can get wet and cold.”

I held out some grain that Grandad had bought and offered it to the swan. She stretched her neck forward and then began guzzling from my hand. I giggled as her beak tickled my palm.

“She’s hungry and wants to eat,” laughed Grandad. “That’s good to see.”

Elsie and I fed her some more, and then Grandad said we should let her rest.

“Can I come back and see her?” asked Elsie.

“Of course,” said Grandad.

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