Whooper swans stayed for wintering near St. Petersburg

Whooper swans were spotted on the Vuoksa River in the center of Priozersk, Leningrad Region. This was reported by biologist Pavel Glazkov in his Telegram channel.

According to him, there are about 20 birds on the lake, but as the frost intensifies, their number will increase.

TV channel "78" notes that usually clikuns winter in Western Europe, but recently some swans spend the cold season in the Leningrad region.

Thus, the first pair of these birds was noticed here more than 10 years ago. Specialists do not exclude that this pair, having successfully wintered over, returned to this place with their offspring. Next year several more pairs joined them. As a result, more than 50 swans were seen on the lake last winter.

These swans are nicknamed "whooper swans" because of the loud cries they make in flight. Klikuns prefer to live far away from humans, in hard-to-reach places. Therefore, the fact that they stayed in the city for the winter is a very rare natural phenomenon.

Earlier, on January 7, a patient hospitalized with a severe form of avian influenza (H5N1) died in a hospital in the United States. This is the first recorded case of a human death from the H5N1 virus. The man contracted it after coming into contact with a flock of wild birds in the backyard of his home. It was noted that the patient had comorbidities.