Snow triggers swan fall!
Freezing temperatures and north-easterly winds have triggered our first 'swan fall' of the winter with 24 new birds arriving overnight, pushing the reserve count up to 120! A total of 135 swans have now visited the reserve this winter which is higher than the five-year average for this time of year (94 birds). Swans have been flooding in from the east in an attempt to escape sub-zero conditions affecting much of Northwest Europe. Wind direction is also very important for migration with a tail wind particularly helping birds on their way.
There are now 23 cygnets accounting for 19% of the birds on site. This indicates far better breeding success than that seen in recent years (an average of 11.3% recorded during the 2005-2009 winters). A co-ordinated cygnet count across many wintering sites in Northwest Europe in mid-December should shed more light on breeding success for the whole population.
