Swan news
Swan fall for Christmas!
Photo by C. Butters Freezing temperatures, north-easterly winds and clear skies over Christmas have encouraged hundreds of Bewick’s swans on the continent to continue with their journey and finally reach Britain. Si
30 December 2014
Dario's family rule the roost!
As the winter progresses and more swans arrive at Slimbridge, a pecking order is developing as the fight to become the most dominant bird on the lake unfolds. We are now greeted every morning by dramatic displays of honking, frantic wing flapping and neck
23 December 2014
Hope for swans - thank you
This year we introduced you to Hope, a Bewick's swan fitted with a GPS tag that lets us track her remarkable migratory journeys. Hope and her companions are at risk. Research has revealed an alarming trend: Bewick's swan numbers plummeted from 29,000 to 1
19 December 2014
The Divorcee
Swan Lake was humming with life this morning with the throng of tired new arrivals as they crowded in to make the most of the supplementary grain feed. Over the last week, 36 new swans have completed their 2,500 mile journey and arrived at Slimbridge, pus
9 December 2014
Hope is on the move!
Hope is nearing the end of her long journey from the Russian arctic to north-west Europe. Latest news from her satellite transmitter indicates that she flew 600 miles non-stop from Estonia to Denmark this week! Bewick’s swans can only carry a limited am
28 November 2014
The Gamblers are back!
Dropping temperatures and south-easterly winds have seen a continuous trickle of new swans reaching our reserves in recent days, culminating in 40 birds at the Slimbridge feed this morning. We were thrilled by the arrival of firm favourites, Croupier and
24 November 2014
Andre has made it to the UK
Andres is the first of our transmitter swans to arrive back in the UK! Over the last few weeks, we have been gripped by the journeys of Andres, Hope, Lech and Eileen. Since fitting these swans with GPS transmitters last winter, we have been able to follow
20 November 2014
Eileen's on the move!
The hollars of “come on Eileen” have worked! Following a bit of a slow start, Eileen has made the great leap from Estonia to Denmark! And judging by this week’s weather forecast marked by north-easterly winds, it is likely that Hope (currently in Es
17 November 2014
Hello Riddler!
Photo credit: Colin Butters Slimbridge faithful, Riddler, has made it back for his 24th winter! In the autumn of 1991, Riddler and his two siblings followed his parents, Oranges and Apples, from where they hatched in
13 November 2014
The wait is over!
Photo credit: James Lees The first four Bewick's swans flew into Slimbridge this morning,the latest arrival date since 1969! It was no coincidence that their arrival occurred alongside a drop in temperatures, crystal
6 November 2014
Latest arrival of Bewick’s at Slimbridge since 1969!
Exceptionally warm weather delivered from sub-tropical latitudes by strong south-westerly winds has stalled the mass migration of Bewick’s swans across Europe. We are in a very unusual situation for November – swanless at Slimbridge! The Bewick’s h
4 November 2014
The wonders of Estonia!
This month I was fortunate enough to visit Estonia with the BBC Autumnwatch team to join swan conservationist Leho Luigujõe and film the first Bewick’s swans on migration! All photos on this page taken by Leho Luigujõe
29 October 2014
Bewick's reach Britain!
The first big wave of Bewick’s have arrived in north-west Europe! Around 1,000 flew into key swan sites in the Netherlands including Lauwersmeer, Ijsselmeer, Markiezaat and Veluwemeer according to Dutch ornithologist Wim Tijsen, part of the network of B
23 October 2014
Hope makes good progress!
We are very excited to bring you some news of Hope, one of our transmitter birds! Some of you may remember that Hope was caught on the Ouse Washes last winter and fitted with a light-weight satellite transmitter. We then followed her long journey back to
17 October 2014
The Bewick's are coming!
News from Russia - the Bewick’s swans are on their way! The first swans were seen leaving their summer arctic breeding grounds on 25 September (Andrey Stepanovich & Yulia Leonova). Thousands more have since followed, embarking on an incredible and c
8 October 2014