Bewick's return in force at WWT Welney!
The first wave of Bewick’s have made it to their winter home.
Until now there has been a distinct lack of Bewick’s swans on the Ouse washes at WWT Welney with only four recorded in the reserve count last week where there should have been 600. These beautiful birds are the smallest swan that migrates the largest distance. But over the weekend of the Festival of swans, the first large groups of these wonderful birds arrived just in time, after a gruelling 3,000km migration from arctic Russia.
At dawn on Saturday about 40 Bewick’s swans were seen flying out from the reserve to the surrounding farmland accompanied by the thousands of whooper swans that had already arrived for the winter from Iceland. Throughout the day they returned to the reserve to wash their feathers and take a drink before returning to the arable land to feed in what was left of the daylight hours. New arrivals are being seen each morning, with numbers now up to several hundred, so it won’t be long until this number increases to 4,000 individuals, the largest roost of Bewick’s swans in Europe and the most important wintering site for the species.
‘It is great to have our furthest reaching swans return in force’ said Reserve manager, Leigh Marshall, ’as they are a flagship species for the WWT Welney and are one of the reasons that the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust’s founder, Peter Scott, saw the need to protect such an important wetlands site. It is really encouraging to see family groups at this early stage of the winter. The sooty-grey cygnets have undergone a huge migration, made all the more amazing by the fact that there are only a few months old when they have to do this for the first time’.
Normally visitors would have a bit of a challenge viewing the Bewick’s swans out on the reserve at this time of the year, as they are heavily outnumbered by the whooper swans who start arriving at wintering sites a month before the Bewick’s. But water levels are such that only a few pools are available to these birds right in front of the hides so all are
jostling for the same space. This resulted in all three swan species being present at the 3.30pm and 6.30pm feeds over the weekend, a spectacle that may continue for the next few weeks.
A combination of mild temperatures and westerly winds have slowed the migration of the Bewick’s swans to the UK but their arrival was expected as the winds turned north-easterly encouraging some of the 3,000 swans that had gathered in the Netherlands, making themselves ready for the final leg of the journey.
The full complement of three species of swan can now be seen at WWT Welney, which are - the UK’s resident and property of the Queen, the mute swan, the loudest and largest migrant, the whooper swan and the small and delicate Bewick’s swan. Nowhere can you get closer to these incredible birds in comfort than from the warmth of the centrally-heated observatory at Welney. For the visitor who wants the ultimate experience of the swans flying out at dawn or the Bewick’s flying in at dusk the Swan’s Awake and Bewick’s flight in events will have to book places fast. Details on the dates of these events as well as our other Winter at Welney events can be found on our website at www.wwt.org.uk/welney or by contacting the centre on 01353 860711.
