Spring migration underway!
The first Bewick’s swans have embarked on spring migration back to their arctic Russian breeding grounds. The lengthening days have signalled the start of the migratory period for the swans and the prevailing westerly winds have provided the final nudge in the right direction.
Flocks have been seen leaving the Norfolk coast and this has been backed up by information from some of our swans carrying satellite transmitters. We are very pleased to see that two swans caught and fitted with transmitters in January (BEWI17 & BEWI20) have now reached Germany! Hope, who was fitted with her transmitter in the 2013/14 winter and the focus of our recent swan appeal, has also started her long journey eastwards, flying from the Netherlands where she spent the winter to western Germany.
Germany is a very important country for the Bewick’s, hosting several thousand during warm winters and providing staging sites for temporary respite on migration in the spring and autumn. Schleswig-Holstein, an area which lies on the base of the Jutland Peninsula between the North and Baltic Seas, is of particular importance for migrating swans relying on a chain of wetland and arable sites to fuel their long journey. I still find it hard to believe that these birds will be flying 2,500 miles to reach their arctic tundra breeding grounds, arriving there in just a couple of months time.
Tracks of transmitter birds (including Hope - yellow track)
Over the last few days, the swans at Slimbridge have been showing some signs that they are preparing to migrate with resting periods interrupted by practice flights around the reserve and river. We still have a full house with 201 individuals on site this morning but with a week of westerlies ahead of us, it is likely that we will see some of our white-feathered friends waving goodbye for another winter....
