10 November 2009
A report from an experienced nature watcher in Lincolnshire is raising hopes that a disabled swan named Crinkly is nearing the end of an odds-defying journey back to her traditional over-wintering grounds at the WWT Slimbridge.
According to a post on the WWT’s Swan Diary blog by 12-year-old Terri Dawson, her dad saw a Bewick’s swan with a crooked neck flying with other birds at the weekend over the Donna Nook nature reserve between Grainthorpe Haven and Saltfleet on the east coast. Swan Diary author Julia Newth says: “This is the most convincing report we’ve had so far that Crinkly is returning, having survived another 2,000 miles migration journey to achieve a total of 20,000 miles flown so far. It’s the right place at the right time and as Terri’s dad is a volunteer warden with the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, he is well-used to ID-ing animals at a distance. What’s more, the site is part of a RAF Bomber Command range where it pays to know what’s overhead!”
As a result of the sighting, swan watchers on the approaches to Slimbridge are being asked to be more vigilant in the next few days and to contact Julia Newth via the blog if they see signs of Crinkly. Julia Newth said: “Given that she is so un-aerodynamic, it’s a miracle Crinkly was able to manage one migration flight. That she is now close to clocking up 20,000 miles of travel between here and Russia is an unprecedented achievement by a disabled swan. She’s truly remarkable.”
Plans are being made to give Crinkly an extra special welcome when she reaches Slimbridge. Meanwhile, the numbers of over-wintering Bewick’s swans are beginning to build at WWT Slimbridge and WWT Welney. Both centres are now running daily swan feeds at dusk during which experts introduce reserve visitors to the birds, many of them known by name and some with WWT connections dating back 20 years or more. In addition, Slimbridge and Welney are staying open late on selected dates for floodlit swan feeds.