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.
Within the flock, she managed to spot a swan that was caught and ringed on the Russian tundra by staff at the Nenetskiy State Nature Reserve just a few weeks ago! This bird has already flown over 2,000 miles to reach Germany and may continue its journey to the Netherlands, Denmark or the UK. Observations of our ringed birds are crucial for filling in the missing pieces of the jigsaw. Every year, we catch and fit colour rings engraved with a unique code to the legs of some of our swans so that we can track them on their migration and in their wintering and breeding grounds. This gives us an insight into the life-histories of individual birds and enables us to better understand the complex factors affecting their survival. We rely on a dedicated network of swan observers to spot our swans and their rings across Europe and send us information of their whereabouts.
Every ringed swan that you spot has a fascinating story! Please send any sightings of ringed Bewick’s swans (green, yellow or white rings) and ringed Whooper swans (yellow, red or orange rings) to colourmarkedswans@wwt.org.uk where our team (Kane Brides, Alison Bloor and Steve Heaven) will be only too pleased to send you information about your bird!
