Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT)
 

National WWT News

The Bewick’s have landed

Posted on 19 October 2007 by WWT

The first Bewick’s swans have arrived to spend the winter at WWT centres with two seen flying over Welney this morning and six arriving at Slimbridge last night.

Clear night skies, cool temperatures and easterly winds over the past couple of days have provided ideal conditions for their westerly migrations through northern Europe. We have had reports of their progress on migration from dedicated observers on the continent with news of 1,000 birds on the Estonian/Russian border earlier this week and 500 in Lauwersmeer in the Netherlands. This weather is set to continue for the next few days and is likely to encourage more Bewick’s to reach British shores.

The first Bewick’s to arrive at Slimbridge include pair Dario and Dorcus who have been the first to arrive at the reserve for the past three years. This is the sixth year that they have been together as a pair with Dario first wintering at Slimbridge as a cygnet in 1999. Having learnt the migration route from parents Raptor and Goodall, Dario has returned nearly every year since, illustrating the great site fidelity shown by this species (and the attraction of the reserve in providing plentiful food and a safe roost). Three yearlings and another adult have arrived with them

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Migrating bird numbers rocket

Posted on 4 October 2007 by WWT

Despite much of the UK basking in unseasonally warm temperatures, Autumn is truly here as the influx of migrating birds arriving to spend the winter here appears to be gathering pace.

27 Barnacle Geese arrived at Caerlaverock last week, but today that number has jumped to a staggering 11,500 – representing almost half the Svalbard Barnacle Goose population.

Among them is ‘Braveheart’, one of 11 Barnacle Geese satellite tracked by WWT scientists. The first four Bewick’s Swans to arrive on our shores were spotted near Happisburgh in Norfolk earlier this week, fuelling speculation that Welney will soon be welcoming some of the 4,000 Bewick’s that spend the winter there. Last year, the first Bewick’s Swans arrived at WWT Welney on 15 October.

Last week Martin Mere saw the arrival of some 10,000 pink-footed geese, but counts this week are expected to take that figure nearer 20,000 – almost 10 times as many as this time last year. It is thought that cold weather coming down from the Arctic Circle may be driving the birds south early.

Whooper Swans have also begun to arrive at Martin Mere and Caerlaverock a couple of weeks earlier, as activity in Iceland with WWT’s Super Whooper appears to be hotting up. One Super Whooper appears to be preparing for winter migration. Fiachra has flown down to the south coast of Iceland – a popular gathering place for Whoopers making final preparations for the journey across to the UK. You can follow the progress of Fiachra and the other Super Whoopers via our interactive map

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