Thousands of ducks have taken up residence in the famous Peterhof Park n...

Thousands of ducks have taken up residence in the famous Peterhof Park near St.Petersburg for the winter instead of migrating to warmer places. The birds filled ponds and canals surrounding the Royal palace, attracting local residents and tourists who enjoyed watching the ducks swimming and feeding them bread. Peterhof was not the only St.Petersburg suburb which birds took a fancy to, they've decided to spent cold months in some parts of the city and other outskirts as there was everything there they needed to survive cold winter months.

"This year, about 7500 birds spent winter in the city," said Vladimir Khrabry, an ornithologist at Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Science. "There's food here. There's an opportunity to stay and mate, eat...water is good and clean here and there are few predators" he added. Another reason for the ducks to stay were milder winters which prevented local ponds and canals from freezing.