What did the swan say as it crossed the road? Nothing – it was a mute swan.

Sorry! But this is what kind of happened in Birmingham recently when a family of mute swans crossed the busy B4148 dual carriageway.

The two adult swans and their five fluffy cygnets were moving from Plantsbrook Nature Reserve to nearby Pype Hayes Park when they found they had to negotiate the road.

Having wandered onto the highway, they failed to heed the Green Cross Code guidance of “go straight across the road” and decided to have a bit of sit down on the tarmac.

After bringing traffic to a standstill for more than ten minutes, it finally took some brave bystanders to physically lift the swans off the road, depositing them safely on the other side.

One of the swan-movers said, “We grabbed the male swan by the neck and dragged him. The female put up more of a fight, flapping about and making lots of noise.

“We then scooped up the cygnets and took them to the side where they were safe and waddled off quite happily.”

Here at duck2water, although we’re a little intimidated by our big white power-house cousins, we’re glad to hear they were all safe and that some conscientious drivers helped them on the way to their new home.

Labels: dual carriageway, green cross code, mute swans