Whooper swans – 1766
Bewick’s swans – 243
Dawn swan count
This entry was posted in Welney sightings and tagged AUTUMNWATCH, Bewick's swans, migration, MIGRATION_WATCH, swan feeds, swans, Welney, wetlands, whooper swans, Wildlife. Bookmark the permalink.
WWT Welney welcomes volunteers who say NO to retirement
Volunteer Norman Ridley
Volunteers are the life blood of charities such as the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and with over 35 years experience, ranging from wrestling with swans at catches to being a wetland bodyguard, Norman Ridley is a shining example and someone WWT Welney owes a great deal to.
“I was first asked to help on the reserve in the 1970’s, making sure that the carpeted main hide was respected without muddy boot marks and crumbs from sandwiches. If anyone broke the golden rules they were to be escorted offsite!” says Norman.
“Since then I have helped with a wide range of activities from helping with the car park and kitchen work to giving the swans their supper in the winter and helping with the research which happens at the swan catches!”
Volunteer group building pond-dipping platform
Volunteers are essential to WWT Welney and where better to spend your free time than enjoying the Fens and learning about its wetland wildlife whilst giving your time to help a charity. With a huge range of roles there is something for everyone; from those who like to engage with the public and help with events to those who want to connect with nature out on the reserve and those who want to help within the visitor centre.
Norman now plays a vital role in the experience our visitors receive at Welney by welcoming people to the site. His wealth of experience means that he is able to answer the range of questions fired at him and has seen many people who visited with their school in the past now bringing their own children for their first encounters with wildlife!
Environment Agency team building
WWT Welney is always looking for volunteers to help with day to day activities to the events which the centre has become so famous for, the swan feeds. Click here to read more about volunteering at WWT Welney. Work parties can also volunteer at Welney as part of team building days away from the normal workplace, contact the centre on 01353 860711 to find out more.
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Witness a flurry of feathers this half term at WWT Welney!
Welney regular Baldur (U5B), his mate U5S, and last year's brood of 7 cygnets. David Featherbe
See some feathery favourites at the floodlit swan feeds such as Baldur, Wimble and Toby Two! As well as catching up with our Welney hatched whooper ,‘Junior’, along with parents Romeo and Julietta.
Thousands of wintering swans will be preparing for their spring migrations by catching a feed at WWT Welney. Spectacular evening floodlit feeds at 6.30pm (Thurs-Sun) as well
as daily 12noon and 3.30pm feeds, offer chances to get close to these amazing birds. Some of which are well know to staff at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) at Welney.
This winter there have been plenty of familiar faces amongst the swans including Toby Two, ringed at Welney in 2008 and Wimble who was ringed in Iceland in 2000. Amongst these individual swans there are whole family groups jostling for a place at the feeds including Baldur and his mate with this year’s brood of five cygnets. As well as the whooper pair Romeo and Julietta and their Welney hatched cygnet, ‘Junior’, who has been mixing with the migratory swans at the feeds. A question that we all would like the answer to is will this cygnet take to the skies this spring and follow the migration to Iceland – its
first ever migration!
Samantha Lee, Public Engagement Officer at Welney comments on the half term activities on offer next week. ‘The swan feeds are a really unique experience and in this cold weather, with the birds brought closer to the hides you really don’t need specialist equipment to be able to enjoy them. It’s incredible to see swans returning to Welney each winter and to get to know some of the birds really well is a privilege.’
‘During half term there is also the chance to learn more about our winter migrants with our discovery trail out on the reserve. Or if visitors need to take a break from the cold and warm up in the visitor centre there will be led sessions on how to make fat-feeders for garden birds from 1.45-2.45pm with activity stations available throughout the day.’
The Ouse washes wetlands site at Welney is the UK’s largest winter roosting site for whooper and Bewick’s swans. Add to this, thousands of wintering duck and you have one of the best winter wildlife spectacles in the UK right on the doorstep. The swan feeds are a great way to learn about these fantastic birds and the amazing migrations they undertake to get to the UK each year.
For more information on the swan feeds and other activities at WWT Welney call the centre on 01353 860711, go to our events page or follow us on twitter @WWTWelney.
This entry was posted in Welney news and tagged bird feders, floodlit feed, half term, migration, pintail, Pochard, swan feeds, swans, Welney, wetland activities, whooper swans, Wigeon, Wildlife. Bookmark the permalink.
Bewick’s return in force at WWT Welney!
The first wave of Bewick’s have made it to their winter home.
One of the first Bewick's swan families to arrive at WWT Welney taken by David Featherbe
Until now there has been a distinct lack of Bewick’s swans on the Ouse washes at WWT Welney with only four recorded in the reserve count last week where there should have been 600. These beautiful birds are the smallest swan that migrates the largest distance. But over the weekend of the Festival of swans, the first large groups of these wonderful birds arrived just in time, after a gruelling 3,000km migration from arctic Russia.
At dawn on Saturday about 40 Bewick’s swans were seen flying out from the reserve to the surrounding farmland accompanied by the thousands of whooper swans that had already arrived for the winter from Iceland. Throughout the day they returned to the reserve to wash their feathers and take a drink before returning to the arable land to feed in what was left of the daylight hours. New arrivals are being seen each morning, with numbers now up to several hundred, so it won’t be long until this number increases to 4,000 individuals, the largest roost of Bewick’s swans in Europe and the most important wintering site for the species.
‘It is great to have our furthest reaching swans return in force’ said Reserve manager, Leigh Marshall, ’as they are a flagship species for the WWT Welney and are one of the reasons that the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust’s founder, Peter Scott, saw the need to protect such an important wetlands site. It is really encouraging to see family groups at this early stage of the winter. The sooty-grey cygnets have undergone a huge migration, made all the more amazing by the fact that there are only a few months old when they have to do this for the first time’.
Normally visitors would have a bit of a challenge viewing the Bewick’s swans out on the reserve at this time of the year, as they are heavily outnumbered by the whooper swans who start arriving at wintering sites a month before the Bewick’s. But water levels are such that only a few pools are available to these birds right in front of the hides so all are
jostling for the same space. This resulted in all three swan species being present at the 3.30pm and 6.30pm feeds over the weekend, a spectacle that may continue for the next few weeks.
A combination of mild temperatures and westerly winds have slowed the migration of the Bewick’s swans to the UK but their arrival was expected as the winds turned north-easterly encouraging some of the 3,000 swans that had gathered in the Netherlands, making themselves ready for the final leg of the journey.
The full complement of three species of swan can now be seen at WWT Welney, which are – the UK’s resident and property of the Queen, the mute swan, the loudest and largest migrant, the whooper swan and the small and delicate Bewick’s swan. Nowhere can you get closer to these incredible birds in comfort than from the warmth of the centrally-heated observatory at Welney. For the visitor who wants the ultimate experience of the swans flying out at dawn or the Bewick’s flying in at dusk the Swan’s Awake and Bewick’s flight in events will have to book places fast. Details on the dates of these events as well as our other Winter at Welney events can be found on our website at www.wwt.org.uk/welney or by contacting the centre on 01353 860711.
This entry was posted in Welney news and tagged Bewick's swans, cygnet, migration, swan feeds, swans, Welney, whooper swans, Wildlife, wintering site. Bookmark the permalink.
Swan spectacle gets underway at WWT Welney
Swan roost provides stunning autumn spectacle.
As the natural spectacles of autumn get underway, our region plays host to one of its own, now at its best! Thousands of migratory swans are roosting in front of WWT Welney’s main observatory each night. The flight in at dusk and the floodlit feeds are currently an experience not to be missed.
Each day at dusk visitors are able to watch these majestic birds fly onto the reserve to roost, falling out of the darkening sky like snow, gliding down to settle on the water’s surface. Then at 6.30pm every Thursday-Sunday, the floodlit feed can be enjoyed from the warmth of the centrally heated observatory accompanied by an informative talk.
The recent arrival of a second wave of swans from their breeding grounds in Iceland
has ensured good numbers of birds for the Festival of swans event taking place this coming weekend. There will be activities and things to see for all, from beginners birdwatching and Welney wetland detectives to new activity stations for children. Or for adults there will be artists and photographers with their works on display showing how they have been inspired by the spectacle of the swans at Welney. And of course there will be swan feeds at 3.30pm and 6.30pm each day where visitors will get a chance to see these birds for themselves and learn a little bit more about them.
The swans that the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust at Welney are famous for only spend the winter in the Fens as they escape the cold weather of their breeding grounds. A count this week has revealed that 4,739 whooper swans are now on the Ouse washes. Recent arrivals can sometimes be identified by the rusty red colour to their head feathers and can often be seen resting on the lagoons during the day before the start to venture further afield.
The whooper swans will shortly be followed by nearly 4,000 Bewick’s swans migrating to Welney from Arctic Russia. Currently we only have 4 Bewick’s swans on the Ouse washes which is some way behind the 600 or so that is normal for this time of year. A combination of mild temperatures and westerly winds have stalled their movement to the UK but their arrival sounds to be imminent as a change in the weather has brought over 3,000 swans into the Netherlands, ready to make their final leg of the journey.
‘The reserve is looking fantastic at the moment, thanks to the hard work put in during the summer by our staff and volunteers,’ said reserve manager, Leigh Marshall, ‘When everything comes together like this, with the reserve it top condition and perfect water levels, the swan spectacle is at its best. Hopefully the Bewick’s swans will arrive in large numbers soon to make this picture complete’.
Visitors in the main observatory looking out ofver a swan-filled main lagoon
Nowhere can you get closer to these incredible migrants in comfort than from the warmth of the centrally-heated observatory at Welney. For the visitor who wants the ultimate experience of the swans flying out at dawn or the Bewick’s flying in at dusk the Swan’s Awake and Bewick’s flight in events will have to book places fast. Details on the dates of these events as well as our other Winter at Welney events can be found on our website at www.wwt.org.uk/welney or by contacting the centre on 01353 860711.
This entry was posted in Welney news and tagged Bewick's swans, floodlit feeds, migration, swan feeds, swans, Welney, whooper swans, Wildlife. Bookmark the permalink.
