Today it is very cold. In the morning it was minus 22 degrees Celsius. Frosty fog in the air. Somehow it got cold very quickly. In the morning I went to the park to take seeds to the birds and hang pieces of lard.
Having poured seeds into the feeders and hung pieces of bacon on the branches, I decided to go to a small park on the river bank where many wild ducks always winter.
Coming closer to the river, I saw that a small group of people were standing on the shore, who were discussing something animatedly and pointing with their hands at the frozen river.
From their conversation, I realized that one of the birds was frozen to the surface of the ice and could not get up. In the evening it was much warmer and this bird settled on the ice for the night. The ice under it melted, and by morning it became very cold and ice formed under the duck. Duck feathers frozen to the ice. So she could only sit in one place. Looking closely at it, I saw that it was not a wild duck, but a grebe. Where did she come from here among the ducks. Before this incident, I had not seen her here.
The poor duck tried many times to get up, but it didn't work. Apparently the ice held her very strongly. And then a stray dog appeared next to her. The bird had to fight it off with its wings and beak.
People on the shore started shouting at the dog and throwing snowballs at it, and the dog moved away from the grebe. Seeing that people do not allow her to approach the bird, the dog left the ice to the shore.
The bird immediately calmed down and sat without moving. It was obvious that she was tired. Walking on the ice was dangerous. The ice just froze and was not strong. Therefore, people standing on the shore decided to call the rescue service. They asked to send rescuers who could help get the bird out of the ice captivity.
Soon two rescuers arrived. One was wearing a special waterproof suit. The second insured him with a long rope. The rescuer crawled up to the bird and began to knock it out of the ice. The bird got scared and tried to peck at the rescuer.
But soon the rescuer pulled the bird out of the ice captivity and delivered it to the shore. They did not dare to release the bird. It had a lot of frozen ice on it. We decided to take it to the park administration. There was a special room where you could keep her warm while she recovered.
It's good that the rescuers came so quickly and saved this great grebe from death. I hope when she recovers she can again be seen among the ducks on the river.
