Feeding the Swans

This is unusual.  There are always swans along the shore where I walk, and I don't think I have ever seen anyone feeding them, however.  And that's a good thing.  People tend to feed ducks and swans and other waterfowl with leftover bread, and that's a really bad thing.  This man had something other than bread, but he was down by the water and I was on the walkway up above, so I don't know what he was actually feeding them.  Swans eat aquatic vegetation, which their long necks equip them to take from underwater. They take the mollusks which cling to the vegetation and also eat small fish, frogs and worms. Swans normally find enough food in the wild without supplementary feeding. It is only in freezing weather that extra food can be helpful.  Many people like feeding bread to swans, but when it's fed in large quantities, it can cause dietary problems, and is no substitute for the proper diet that the birds themselves will seek out. Grain, such as wheat, and vegetable matter, especially lettuce and potatoes, can be fed to swans. Food should be thrown into the water to avoid encouraging the birds onto the bank.  So now you know what swans eat!  Another public service announcement from my blog!