Oldest swan arrives breaking all records!
We were thrilled to see the return of Winterling this morning, who at the age of 28 years, has broken the record for the oldest swan known to have visited Slimbridge! Winterling first visited the reserve as a cygnet in 1982 with her parents Albert and Rachel, and after first learning the long 2,500 mile migration route from breeding grounds in arctic Russia, she has returned most years since! Although a few wild Bewick's swans reach their early to mid-twenties, Winterling is the oldest swan to have visited Slimbridge in 10,000 individual birds studied here. Furthermore, she is edging her way towards equalling the world record for longevity, reached by a ringed bird who was 29 years old when found dead in 1993.
During the 28 years, we have gained extraordinary insight into Winterling's life, thanks to her remarkable survival and WWT's unique ability to monitor her intensively through bill pattern recognition and ringing methods. We have learnt that she has outlived three mates, returning alone this winter for the fourth year running. She has brought only four cygnets back to the reserve and was frequently spotted in the Netherlands during autumn migration before losing her ring in 1996. Several winters have also been spent at Welney.
Following the radiation leak at Chernobyl in the Ukraine in April 1986, Winterling's radiation levels were tested when she was caught at Slimbridge the next winter. Although it was thought that the swans would have migrated through the Baltic before the disaster, there were concerns that some birds may have been affected by the incident had their migration been delayed. Fortunately, radioactivity was not detected above background levels in any of the 46 swans tested that year. Despite gaining such a detailed and fascinating picture of Winterling's history, there will be much of her life that only she will know about, and in over 143,000 miles of flying, she must have seen some sights!
With the swans flooding in on the north-easterly wind, a total of 164 birds have now been recorded at Slimbridge so far this winter which is higher than the five-year average for this time of year (100 birds).
