By Dr Eileen Rees
Eileen is Head of WWT’s UK Waterbird Conservation Programme, with particular responsibility for long-term population studies of migratory geese and swans.
She leads the collaborative study of the Icelandic Whooper Swan population, and also the Anglo-Russian study of Bewick’s Swan breeding biology.
- 6 Jun
Where are the Super Whoopers now?
Following the excitement of the migration period, the Super Whoopers are now settling into their breeding season. Although some of the transmitters have stopped transmitting, probably due to battery malfunction, we are hoping to catch up with the progress of these individuals during fieldwork later on this year.
Meanwhile, we are pleased to report that, following his late migration (at the second attempt!), then resting in SW Iceland for 10 days in early-mid May, Jaleel moved to his usual summer haunts at Skagafjördur on 19th May and was still on marshes in the southern part of the valley earlier today.
Of the other swans at Skagafjördur, Doon was still on his territory at the Gardsvatn farms on 23rd May, and we believe that Blackwater is also still there, although his transmitter stopped functioning towards the end of April. Balinderry was on the island of Glaumbaer in Skagafjördur a couple of days ago (latest data being for 31st May), but it's not yet clear if he's on territory or in a non-breeding flock.
Elsewhere, Blidfinnur seems to be frequenting a small lake in Bardardalur, whilst Maine is still in the upland area 25 miles southwest of Skagafjördur. We will keep monitoring their progress, and providing updates in the Super Whooper, diary as the summer progresses.
Post a comment - 8 May
Stop press! Jaleel makes the crossing!!
We are delighted to report that, having turned-back from his first migration attempt this spring, Jaleel has now migrated safely to Iceland. On first leaving for Iceland in early April he encountered head winds half-way across, so he prudently turned round and returned to the west coast of Ireland. The 700 mile journey that he undertook at that time would have made major inroads into the body fat needed to provide energy for flying from Ireland to Iceland. He therefore wisely spent one month (4.5 weeks) resting and feeding, first on Achill Island, then south of Broadhaven in Co. Mayo, replenishing his fuel reserves.
He finally set off again on the evening of 5 May, which is late for Whooper Swan migration. This time, however, the journey was uneventful. By 6am he was flying steadily NNW at an estimated 66 miles/hr, by 11am he was more than half-way to Iceland, and by 4pm he had reached the coast of southeast Iceland. There he rested for an hour or so before tracking west a little along southern Iceland. Since Jaleel was caught and ringed at Skagafjordur, on the opposite side of the country, we now wait to see if he heads there over the Icelandic glaciers or takes the longer coastal route.
Post a comment - 1 May
Maine heads north and Jaleel continues refueling in Ireland
Earlier today, Maine finally decided that he'd spent enough time in the southwest lowlands of Iceland and headed north. He moved to an upland area about 25 miles southwest of Skagafjördur dotted with lakes and pools. We've not previously surveyed this area for Whooper Swans and, depending on its accessibility, it might well be worth monitoring in future years.
Back in Co. Mayo, Jaleel has been moving around and must now be thinking of making his second attempt to migrate to Iceland for the summer. We look forward to watching his progress over the coming days.
Post a comment - 20 Apr
Super Whooper update
After the excitement of the spring migration and onward movement to the breeding grounds in early April, the Super Whoopers are now settling down a little. From the latest data, Sixmilewater and Maine are still in the lowlands of southwest Iceland (as of 19th and 20th April respectively), Blackwater, Ballinderry and Doon are in Skagafjördur (on 11th, 11th and 18th respectively), Jaleel is still in Co. Mayo (on 16th April) and Blidfinnur in Bardardalur (on 20th April).We are awaiting updates for Bann and Moyola over the next few days.
Post a comment - 16 Apr
Blidfinnur returns to his summer haunts via SkagafjC6rdur
Having spent a few days resting and refueling at Skeið in southwest Iceland, Blidfinnur headed north to Skagafjördur on 14 April. He continued to his main summer haunts in the Fljótsheiði district on 16 April.
Icelandic ringer Sverrir Thorstensen has known Blidfinnur since first catching and ringing him as a cygnet at Sydri-Holl, Fnjoskadalur in 2001. He reports that he now seems to be at Halldorsstadir in Bardardalur. So he's safely back in Sverrir's study area.
Post a comment - 14 Apr
Doon's transmitter comes back to life
Much to the surprise of the Super Whooper team, recent satellite data indicates that Doon has migrated to Iceland!
He was known to be alive and well and wintering in the Caerlaverock area from November onwards, but observations and a total lack of satellite data indicated that he'd ditched his transmitter. A small number of fixes in early April, including one from the Solway on 5 April, we attributed to the transmitter lying in a nearby field.
On 9 April, however, the satellite tracks showed that he was near the village of Hella in the southwest lowlands of Iceland. And on 15 April he was back on his breeding territory at Gardsvatn in Skagafjördur. Because we thought that the transmitter was defunct, Doon's tracks have been removed from the website but we will keep his supporters informed of his progress via the Super Whooper Diary. We now hope to catch Doon and to remove his transmitter during the expedition to Iceland this summer.
Post a comment - 13 Apr
Sixmilewater flies direct
The last of the six Super Whoopers fitted with satellite transmitters in Northern Ireland last month has joined the others in southwest Iceland.
Sixmilewater, one of the largest of the Whoopers caught on 11 March, remained in the Lough Neagh/Beg area until the end of last month. He finally set off on 29 March reaching the Irish coast near Downhill by 5am and was further west at Lough Foyle by 9am. By 7pm on 29 March he was nearly half-way to Iceland but bad weather hindered his progress and he sat on the sea for about 36 hours. At 9pm on 31 March he was on his way again and he finally reached Iceland late that evening.
Since then Sixmilewater has being resting and feeding in the Skeið area of southwest Iceland. Of the other Irish Super Whoopers only Bann has not used this site this spring. He seems to be frequenting an area near Vik on the south coast of Iceland.
Jaleel is still in Co. Mayo following his failed attempt at migration earlier this month. It's now a week since he returned to Ireland and we wait with interest to see if or when he will try again...
Post a comment - 12 Apr
After several weeks in Scotland, Blidfinnur heads for Iceland
Having watched Blidfinnur quietly bide his time in northern Scotland for several weeks, we were beginning to wonder if he was going to remain there all summer or if his transmitter had fallen off. But on the afternoon of 9th April he started moving north. He alighted on a loch just south of Achfary from 2:15pm to 5:15pm, and by 3am on 10 April was half-way to Iceland. Three hours later he was just 50 miles from Iceland and by 3pm on 10 April he was having a well-earned rest near the village of Hella in the southwest lowlands of Iceland, just 24 hours after leaving the Scottish Highlands.
Blackwater has now moved on from the Skeið area and has joined Ballinderry in Skagafjördur. Interestingly they seem to be using different parts of the site. Ballinderry frequents Borgarey, an island in the Héraðsvötn River (where the swans are notoriously difficult to catch!), while Blackwater scouts around the more elevated lakes on Hegranes in the northern part of the site.
Post a comment - 11 Apr
Bann reaches Iceland, and Ballinderry heads to Skagafjordur
Recent data shows that the fifth Irish Super Whooper, Bann, has migrated safely to Iceland. He left Lough Neagh/Beg on 28 March and then spent the 29 March on the Outer Hebrides. He continued towards Iceland early (probably whilst still dark) the next day. He spent that night on the water just short of the Icelandic coast on 31 March and made landfall in the early hours of 1 April.
Icelandic Whooper Swan expert, Dr Olafur Einarsson, has provided further information on the area being used by the other Super Whoopers in Árnessýsla, southwest Iceland. Maine is close to Vorsabær farm in the Skeið area, Moyola (N4K) is near Reykir farm, Skeið, and Blackwater is frequenting Bjarg farm, in Hrunamannahreppur. Ballinderry similarly was in Skeið (at Ósabakki farm) on 1 April, but has now moved to Skagafjördur, one of our study sites in northern Iceland.
Post a comment - 9 Apr
Jaleel changes his mind
Having spent the whole winter in Co. Mayo, Jaleel finally set off on spring migration in 2nd April. At 10.30am he was still at his wintering site but an hour later he had covered 40 miles to near Clare Island, off the west coast of the Republic of Ireland. Over the next couple of days there were few satellite fixes. But by the afternoon of 5 April he was on his way to Iceland. He spent that night at sea about halfway between Iceland and Ireland.
At the time north-westerly winds were blowing - not good for migration. Rather than fly into head winds Jaleel took the safer option. He turned round and returned to Ireland arriving back over Achill Island, Co. Mayo, on the evening of 6 April. He will have burnt off much of the body fat needed to fuel migration in his failed attemp. We now wait with interest to see how long it takes him to regain condition and to make his second attempt at reaching Iceland.
The forecast for the rest of the week is not promising; northerly and easterly winds are due to continue until Friday. We therefore hope that Blidfinnur, still in northern Scotland, also stays put at least until the weekend.
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