Some familiar faces!
Bewick’s swans are very faithful to their wintering sites, so much so, that half of the swans that visit us at Slimbridge every year have been here before. Since the 1950s, the reserve has been managed to attract and accommodate thousands of tired waterbirds at the end of their long migrations. WWT’s founder Sir Peter Scott established a roosting lake (known as the Rushy) and pastures that are still sought after by hundreds of swans today.
Every winter, we are able to identify each visiting swan by its unique black and yellow bill pattern. Each has its own record and is promptly named if not recognised from previous winters. Returning swans can be monitored over their lifetimes and over the years, the information gathered has shed light on the ecological parameters needed for their survival. There has never been a greater need for our Bewick’s swan conservation work - the NW European Bewick’s swan was recently re-classified as Endangered in Europe.
From a personal perspective, every autumn brings with it anticipation of who may arrive and with whom! As the researchers who monitor the individual swans that return year after year, it’s hard not to become attached! No one knows the swans better than long-term volunteer Steve Heaven who has been watching the swans and recording valuable information for 18 years now and has studied many generations of the same families.
We’ve certainly not been short of familiar faces and characters this year! We were relieved to see the return of some particularly old birds. Riddler is back at the grand old age of 24 with mate of eight years Riddles. As a creature of habit, Riddler can often be seen after every feed preening on the large island in front of the Peng Observatory. He sports a yellow leg ring (with the code YXU) which has been spotted in Estonia, Germany and the Netherlands on migration to and from Slimbridge over the years.
The Gambling Dynasty continues to be a regular presence with the arrival of Croupier (also 24 years old) and mate Dealer and their three cygnets this winter. Croupier first visited Slimbridge in 1991 with parents Casino and Punter. This family stretch back to 1969 when Croupier’s grandparents, Nijinsky and Caroline, were first recorded at Slimbridge by the Scott family. Croupier’s mother, Casino, was the longest-lived wild Bewick’s swan on record for many years, reaching a grand old 27 years in 1998. Her record has since been surpassed by Brimstone (29 years) and Winterling (28 years).
Croupier and Dealer have brought 29 cygnets back to the reserve over the years and many of them continue to visit and bring back their own families. At the moment, Wager and Stakes are here with two cygnets and Croupie is here with mate Wheel. We look forward to welcoming many more generations of The Gamblers to Slimbridge!
