Andre has made it to the UK
Andres is the first of our transmitter swans to arrive back in the UK! Over the last few weeks, we have been gripped by the journeys of Andres, Hope, Lech and Eileen. Since fitting these swans with GPS transmitters last winter, we have been able to follow closely their flight-paths on spring migration back to arctic Russia and now on their autumn migration back to Northwest Europe. We are particularly interested in their journeys over the sea between the Dutch and English coasts in relation to the location of proposed off-shore wind farms. We will be busy analysing this data over the coming months to assess any possible risk to the swans from these wind turbines. Wind power is a proven form of low-carbon power generation enabling the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions associated with climate change. It is important that turbines are positioned in the best possible locations so that we can have both healthy bird populations and clean energy.
It has been fascinating to follow Andres over the last nine months. Since leaving UK shores in February, Andres has flown over nine countries and has stopped off in the Netherlands, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Russia! He spent his summer months in and around the Pechora Delta in arctic Russia, a key site of international importance for the species. Much of this area falls within the Nenetskiy National Nature Reserve which was legally protected following WWT’s work with Russian and Dutch scientists there during the 1990s.
His arrival in Northwest Europe this autumn prompted several ornithologists to try and track him down in the field. On 28 October, Bjarke Laubek spotted Andres looking in fine shape, feeding in flooded fields just north of the River Geråa in Denmark. Soon after, he set off for the Netherlands where Wim Tijsen located him in the north eastern part of Lake Ijsselmeer (you can read more about Wim’s wild swan chase to find Andres in my previous post “latest arrival of Bewick’s at Slimbridge since 1969”). We were delighted to hear that he had found a partner!
Andres has now returned to the fields near Welney, very close to where we caught him and fitted his transmitter and we are very much looking forward to heading out to the fields to see him and his new mate.
