BANKS of black swans have been seemingly out in force, straying from lakeside this week, prompting wildlife warnings for people to take - and give - more care.
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It seems the city's popular animal friends are growing up.
Wildlife experts say there are only a couple of small broods left in the Lake Wendouree precinct and that means young swans have been increasingly kicked out of the nest and urged to navigate their own way in Ballarat life.
Swans were spotted near the cemetery off Burbank Street on Tuesday at lunchtime, sparking calls for drivers to be more alert on faster roads further out from the lake where the black creatures might prove a surprise.
The Courier Nature Notes writer Roger Thomas said it is not unusual, but also not frequent for swans to become a bit more adventurous in their travels and holding up traffic at this time of year. He said this was likely helped by the wet weather, favourable to swans who have been making a bit of a splash about wet roads.
Wildlife rescuer Heather Lewis said older swans typically taught cygnets how to navigate the Lake Wendouree precinct, including road crossings, but this year there did seem to be a lot more young out on their own for the first time.
Ms Lewis said while council did not cut lakeside grass as short, encouraging swans to feed more by the lake, routine grass cutting this week has also been a likely factor in more swans on the move.
Rescuers are continuing to try and save one swan, on average, after being hit by a car. Ms Lewis said this number rises when there were events or busy weekends by the lake.
She said people feeding swans continued to be a problem in some areas by Lake Wendouree. Often, feeding caused territorial males to attack other swans or to scare them onto roads. Other became too familiar to cars and wandered in their way, or were backed over, in seeking food.
"The big positive is that most people in the Ballarat general public report injured swans and are fantastic at looking out for them," Ms Lewis said.
To report an injured swan, call Wildlife Victoria on 8400 7300 or visit wildlifevictoria.org.au.
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