Another Divorcee and Mr Bond!
It’s been another busy week on Swan Lake with a steady stream of new arrivals, bringing yet more intriguing stories! After the arrival of one of the divorcees, Saruni, a week ago, we wondered whether her ex. partner Sarindi would arrive. We didn’t have to wait long for an answer as Sarindi (ringed BBZ) flew in this week with mate of two years, Sarind. Would there be recognition between the separated individuals? There certainly weren’t any signs of acknowledgement between the divorcees and their respective new partners last winter....
We will have to wait a little longer to find out as Saruni is still with her family at Blagdon and Chew Lakes in Somerset! Of course, we do not have much knowledge of the interactions and behaviours between divorced birds as Saruni and Sarindi are only the second Bewick’s pair known to have separated in over 4,000 bird studied since the 1960s! So we are eagerly awaiting Saruni’s return to find out!
Meanwhile, we have received exciting news that Welney swan Mr Bond (ringed 007T) and Slimbridge swan Taciturn (009T), both fitted with GPS tracking devices in January, have been spotted in the Netherlands and Denmark! 010T has also been seen in Latvia and Estonia but the GPS device has sadly fallen off. Mr Bond and Taciturn were two of 10 Bewick’s fitted with the trackers, in an effort to gather more detailed information on their routes taken when flying between the Dutch and East Anglian coasts, an area marked for off-shore wind-farm development.
Although the full impacts of wind turbines on the birds are not fully known, the information could help us determine the safest site for them. Between 5,000 and 7,000 Bewick’s cross this stretch of water twice a year, so safeguarding their passage is crucial.
We need to be within around 200 metres of the bird to download this important data so keep your eyes peeled and let us know if you spot them (the birds are marked with white neck collars with codes 001T to 010T). Please send any sightings to colourmarkedswans@wwt.org.uk
Special thanks to Wim Tijsen, Huub Verbeek, Jacob Jorritsma, Zweitse Scheeringa (the Netherlands) Jens Hjerrild (Denmark) Julius Morkunas (Latvia) and Samuli Haapasalo (Estonia) for the latest information on our transmitter birds!
