A RARE visitor has been seen making friends with the resident swans on the river Severn in Worcester.
A whooper swan has been in the city for about a week from its usual breeding ground in Iceland.
The RSPB describe the whooper swan as a large white swan, bigger than a Bewick's swan which has a long thin neck, which it usually holds erect, and black legs.
Wendy Carter, a spokesperson for Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, confirmed it is a whooper swan.
She said: "They’re a migratory species that mostly breed in Iceland, although there are a handful of pairs that breed in the very north of Scotland.
"They’re rare visitors to Worcestershire and this one has been socialising with Worcester’s resident mute swans for the past week or so.
"There have been a few sightings of whooper swans in Worcestershire this winter so it’s possible that this one has been seen elsewhere in the county recently.
"We suspect that it won’t be long before it takes off to return to Iceland, perhaps visiting us again next winter."
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