# Swimming waterfowl? This time of year? Brrrr.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 2, 2000, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swimming-waterfowl-this-time-of-year-brrrr/7986 "2000-03-02T04:14:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swimming-waterfowl-this-time-of-year-brrrr/7986/1 "2000-03-02T04:14:00Z")
I live way up north in Michigan. While we’ve had a recent warm-up that has gotten rid of most of the snow, things have gotten down to sub-freezing again. The warm-up, however, got rid of most of the ice cover on our inland lakes. Today on my way to work, I passed a particular lake and saw some swans swimming along. That water has to be frigid, not too far above freezing. Didn’t seem to bother them any, however. How do swans (and ducks) avoid hypothermia in their kicking legs underwater? A person’s extremities would be affected in a half-hour or less at those water temps. * * * “You should tell the truth, expose the lies and live in the moment.” - Bill Hicks ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swimming-waterfowl-this-time-of-year-brrrr/7986/2 "2000-03-02T04:29:00Z")
IIRC from my Environmental Zoology course, waterfowl combat hypothermia in their legs by having their blood vessels arranged in a countercurrent fashion. Blood vessels that carry warm blood from the core of the bird are right next to the blood vessels that carry the cooler blood away from the legs. The blood that leaves the legs is warmed up by the blood that is entering the legs. This makes the birds generally more resistant to cold extremities. * * * **Gypsy** : Tom, I don’t get you. **Tom Servo** : Nobody does. I’m the wind, baby. ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swimming-waterfowl-this-time-of-year-brrrr/7986/3 "2000-03-02T04:41:00Z")
And how is that different from any of our extremities? Our veins aren’t close to our arteries? * * * “You should tell the truth, expose the lies and live in the moment.” - Bill Hicks ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swimming-waterfowl-this-time-of-year-brrrr/7986/4 "2000-03-02T04:59:00Z")
From a Q&A section on Audubon: [http://www.audubon.org/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind9901&L=expert&P=R42](http://www.audubon.org/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind9901&L=expert&P=R42) in response to your question (but asked with many more words): > [@](#): > > Your question has occurred to many people and researchers have worked this out. Geese (bird) feet are made to tolerate getting very cold–their feet and toes can function at temperatures as low as forty degrees farenheit (inside the foot that is). They cannot let them freeze however. > > One way birds can regulate their body temperature is through their uninsulated legs. Bird legs have arteries that run down them with incoming blood (hot blood) and veins that return the blood, which may be hot or cold–depending on ambient temperature. These blood vessels lay next to each other and can warm, or cool the returning blood as needed. The ateries and veins can constrict or open–depending on temperature needs. During hot weather, the hot blood in the legs can be cooled in the water (lots of blood flow). During cold weather, the blood to the legs is restricted and the legs get very cold. The cold blood coming back to the body from the feet passes the warm blood coming from the body and is partly warmed before going back into the body. Geese also can tuck their legs under their body while sitting on the ice to reduce temperature loss. * * * Tom~ ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swimming-waterfowl-this-time-of-year-brrrr/7986/5 "2000-03-02T06:05:00Z")
Damn, Tom, you’re good. * * * “You should tell the truth, expose the lies and live in the moment.” - Bill Hicks ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swimming-waterfowl-this-time-of-year-brrrr/7986/6 "2000-03-02T06:42:00Z")
Hmph. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swimming-waterfowl-this-time-of-year-brrrr/7986/7 "2000-03-02T15:51:00Z")
And of course them feathers is about the best insulation in the whirled. Q: How do you get down from the roof? A: You don’t get down from a roof, you get down from a duck. ---
**Author:** ![aha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eada6e/32.png) [@aha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aha)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swimming-waterfowl-this-time-of-year-brrrr/7986/8 "2000-03-02T15:58:00Z")
I have ducks and geese on my pond next to my house. Recently it was 18 degrees outside with snow on the ground. I was worried about my ducks in such extreme weather. I looked out my window at the pond to see if they were alright and was suprised to see that the ducks were busy screwing… ahhhh don’t think the cold weather bothers them much. 🙂 * * * Yours truly, aha