The long-awaited guests, white swans, also called the British Queen’s birds, arrived to Sevastopol in late December, 2012.
They are indeed looking like royalty, with long necks, white plumages, bright red beaks and imposing gait. The swans are accompanied by ducks and pochards. The residents joke that the birds came to like Sevastopol so much that they decided to increase frequency of their visits and celebrate every New Year in this white-stoned city, relying upon the saying “One spends the entire year where one celebrates the New Year.” It is no surprise indeed that the birds like the city, for its hospitable residents treat the swans to white bread or various cooked cereals. The birds could not help but note the cordial welcome and thank the hospitable hosts to the best of their ability, which is quite considerable and includes coming ashore to take treats with their own beaks from the residents’ hands, charging them with positive energy.
The bravest (or the worst-mannered) birds go as far as to search bags and pockets of passers-by, but even such boorish behavior does not offend the residents, proud that their city has become a safe haven for as wonderful birds as swans are. Valeria Fuhol comes to Prymorsky Boulevard to communicate with the birds in order to store positive emotions for the entire year. The girl says: “When the swans arrive, I always buy a loaf of white bread and go feed them. I remember when I was a young girl, our entire family went to feed the swans.
Our city is far smaller than Kyiv or Kharkiv, but no Ukrainian city can boast such entertainment, that is, communicating with the British Queen’s birds.” Sevastopol bays protect the birds from storms, while weather there is mild and relatively warm, attracting them. Not only white swans, but ducks, pochards, and resident gulls, too, seek full course of daily meals in the city. The gulls, unlike the human residents, are not very hospitable, often staging attacks to take the prized delicacies away from the guests they did not invite and get food for themselves. It should be noted that the birds are not afraid of photo and video equipment and gladly pose for a photo shoot.
