Crinkly's back at Slimbridge!
The news we have all been waiting for! Crinkly, our swan with the crinkly neck, flew on to Swan Lake this afternoon, after surviving yet another gruelling migration!
Crinkly has become a firm Slimbridge favourite after first arriving here in 2004 as a cygnet with parents Lucius and Coletta. She has a kink in her neck which makes her very distinctive from the other swans, and against all of the odds, has survived nine journeys, clocking up over 27,000 km! It is thought that Crinkly was born with this birth defect, and although is not as aerodynamic as the others, seems to cope very well! She does not appear to have a mate, although a partner that is new to the reserve may be initially hesitant in coming on to the main lake so we will have to wait and see....
The full moon and clear skies last night would have provided good visibility for navigation so it was not all that surprising to see another three new swans arrive along with Crinkly. Amongst those was Crinkly's father, a swan named Lucius! Although Bewick's swans usually become independent from their parents after a year, Crinkly is still loosely associating with his father four years later! There was no sign of the family today although the parents are known to frequent other sites around Gloucestershire throughout the winter. They always return to the reserve so we look forward to seeing them again soon!
