'Swanfall' and a Riddle!
The swans came flooding in to Slimbridge last night under a full moon and clear skies as temperatures dipped to a chilly -2.4°C. Our first ‘swanfall’ of the season saw 38 new birds arrive increasing the count to 86! This means that nearly 60 swans have flown in since Tuesday as the cold weather pushed them across from the continent. After a slow start to the swan season with mild temperatures and south-westerly winds discouraging many from reaching Britain, numbers have certainly picked up with the sudden change in weather. Swan Lake is now alive and buzzing with activity!
And of course, among the new arrivals were some familiar faces! It was fantastic to see Riddler at the morning feed with mate Riddles. Riddler first visited Slimbridge as a cygnet with his parents Apples and Oranges in 1991 making him a grand 21 years old! In 2000 he arrived with his first mate, Raoulia, and three cygnets. That year, we managed to catch and ring one of the cygnets, Pen Pal. Pen Pal (ringed 401) was last spotted in Lincolnshire in 2004 and has not been to Slimbridge for twelve years....until today! In a strange twist, both Riddler and Pen Pal arrived together. Perhaps they have seen each other on migration or in Russia during the ‘missing years’ or perhaps today they have been reunited after a long absence......
