Swanfall!
After a very slow start to the season we have at last had a good arrival of Bewick’s Swans. We may have missed out on the snowfall up north but we did get a Swanfall overnight, with 50 new birds arriving. It has been a very mild winter so far right across Europe, so numbers of Bewick’s Swans have been very slow to arrive this year. But the cold weather and north east winds over the last few days have at last brought us bigger numbers. It is also very encouraging to see many more families arriving after we have only had two prior to the big arrival. WWT is involved with monitoring the 300 or so wild Bewick's swans that spend their winter at Slimbridge.
Because so many new birds have arrived, it has created a lot of interesting behaviour on the pond. Now is an excellent time to visit to see some fantastic interaction between the 143 Bewick's Swans.
The Bewick's swan study was started in February 1964 by Sir Peter Scott, when the first wild Bewick's swans were attracted to a lake in the Rushy Pen at Slimbridge. Peter and his family took a very close interest in the swans. By drawing each swan's bill pattern (which is unique to each individual), a detailed study of the species began which continues to this day, making it one of the longest running research projects of any single species in the world!
Our researchers spend their winter months at Slimbridge identifying the swans by their bill patterns as they arrive. Once the individuals are identified and named, the behaviour and movements of each can then be closely studied on site. The Bewick's swans are particularly special in that they have great winter site fidelity and so over half of the swans that visit Slimbridge each winter are known to have visited us before.
It is always exciting to see who will be arriving next and whether they have brought any cygnets with them. Some of our swans are also ringed which enables us to track them on their Autumn and Spring migrations to and from arctic Russia. It is always lovely to receive news of old swan friends in foreign lands as they progress on their 3,000 km journeys!
Julia Newth is a wildlife health research officer at WWT and is involved with monitoring the 300 or so wild Bewick's swans that spend their winter at Slimbridge. See her blog here
