Swan news
Winter brings swans back!
Well winter has really arrived this week! Those cold, crisp days with biting northerly winds are back with a vengeance, and accompanying them are more arctic visitors escaping even cooler conditions further east. I had a hunch that yesterday would be busy
21 November 2013
Wooton, Stinchcombe & 4 cygnets arrive!
Wooton, Stinchcombe & family (P. Rose) Wooton and Stinchcombe have just flown in fresh from migration with four cygnets! It was fantastic to see them circling the reserve before skimming in across the water. A ter
19 November 2013
Dario arrives with first family!
Dario, Bridges & cygnet (J S Lees) Regular Slimbridge visitor Dario has flown into Slimbridge for his 14th winter bringing with him his first cygnet! Dario first came to Slimbridge in 1999 as a youngster with pare
15 November 2013
Westerly winds stall migration
The predominantly westerly winds blowing this past week have stalled autumn migration and stemmed the flow of Bewick’s reaching the Netherlands and Britain. In the Netherlands, heavy rainfall has increased water levels at some sites making it difficult
12 November 2013
Zara brings back first mate!
After a few days of closely watching the swans, we have noticed that Zara, named after Olympian Zara Phillips, has a mate! Both adults have been seen closely associating with each other and both have performed greeting rituals and defended territory as a
1 November 2013
Swans on the move again!
The swans are slowly on the move again after stalling their journey during the big storm that affected parts of Europe. The strong winds and heavy rain will have reduced visibility and increased the risk of flying accidents and being blown off-course. The
30 October 2013
Bewick's brave winds to arrive at Slimbridge!
Seven Bewick’s swans made the most of the calm before the storm to continue their journey and reach Slimbridge yesterday! Humbugs (C. Butters) Leading them was Humbugs who has been the first to arrive for the last
28 October 2013
Update from the Netherlands
The Bewick's are continuing to move across the Netherlands with close to 1,000 birds now at various sites around the country, according to Dutch ornithologist Wim Tijsen. As Wim says 'it is all starting to move!' Jacob Jorritsma managed to capture this f
21 October 2013
Ringed swan spotted in Germany!
The Bewick's are making good progress with hundreds seen arriving in Germany over the last few days. Monika Povel clocked 259 swans at the Katinger Watt nature reserve in Schleswig-Holstein in the north. Swan with green
16 October 2013
First Bewick's at Welney!
The first two Bewick's of the winter have arrived at WWT Welney, officially kick-starting the British swan season! The pair took advantage of a brief spell of easterly winds to help them cross the channel and arrive on time. And there will be thousands no
14 October 2013
The swans are coming!
The epic migration of Bewick's swans from the tundras of arctic Russia to warmer wintering sites in Northwest Europe has begun! We heard a couple of weeks ago that all of the swans had left the Pechora Zapovednik (a key breeding area in Russia) and that a
3 October 2013
Au Revoir!
Our last two remaining Bewick’s swans have finally left on spring migration, drawing to a close another eventful swan season! Whirls and Alik stayed at Slimbridge until 11 April, before natural urges to migrate and breed, triggered by the lengthening da
16 April 2013
And then there were two!
Not long after we waved goodbye to the last seven swans last week, two more reappeared! Whirls and yearling Alik had seemingly grown tired of the antics of the territorial pair of breeding mute swans on the main Rushy Lake and took themselves off to the g
3 April 2013
Migration starts again!
At last some south-westerly winds and clear skies! On Thursday there were 124 Bewick’s swans at Slimbridge but by Friday there were only 35! The swans had been stalling – days of unfavourable north-easterly winds had dissuaded most from starting their
19 March 2013
Cold weather halts migration!
Swans flying into the feed (C. Butters) A return to north-easterly winds has brought much colder air from Scandanavia and Eastern Europe causing the Bewick’s swans to delay their migration back to Russia for conside
11 March 2013