The quiet, rural landscape of the Fens has been the setting for the start of an incredible journey for ten special Bewick’s swans – the rarest swan in the UK.
These swans are some of the first of their species to be tracked from Britain, in a study that aims to identify the threats facing them during their migrations. Fitted with GPS collars, these swans will soon be leaving the UK to travel 2,500 miles back to their breeding grounds in Arctic Russia.
Whilst the swans are here in the UK they rely on the rich wetland habitat of the Ouse Washes to roost on and the surrounding arable land in which to feed during the day. The relationship that WWT has with local farmers, and the support of volunteers, is crucial for enabling swan catches to take place in fields around the Ouse Washes.
Tagged Bewick's swans ready for re-release
Local farmer, Tom Clarke said:
"We were blown away to discover the flock of swans feeding on our field represented about 1/20th of the entire European population. We were very proud that they chose our farm after flying all the way here from Russia. They've been coming here for the past few winters, but now we realise how special they are and how endangered. "
"The WWT came and tagged the swans so they can be tracked on their migration back to the Arctic, and as a thank you asked if they could name one of the females after my 1yr old daughter Daisy Clarke. As she grows up it will be fun for her to be able to check on the progress of her airborne namesake!"
Daisy the Bewick's swan
Assistant Warden, Katy Smith said:
“Bewick’s swans are a fantastic wetland species and this is a really exciting project to gain insight into their lives whilst providing some essential data to help the populations’ survival.
“Cannon-netting looks like a very dramatic approach to catching swans, but the swans’ safety is the top priority for the team of experts involved.
“It is a privilege to see the Bewick’s so close at a catch and to work alongside so many people who are dedicated to the conservation of this species.”
Bewick's swans being released by Sacha Dench
Through decades of monitoring and research, WWT has led the way in studying the Northwest European population of these beautiful birds. Now that the population is in decline, we are able to advise on and implement solutions to those threats thanks to the support of visitors and members. The data gained from the tracking study, will be used to advise wind farm developers on the appropriate locations of turbines in large offshore wind farms, to reduce the collision risk for migrating swans.
So far this winter the data recorded shows that the swans have remained in the area around WWT Welney, albeit been increasingly using the Ouse Washes rather than local reservoirs to roost in recent days, which they tend to do prior to migration. Two tagged birds have already migrated to mainland Europe, however, heading for the Netherlands then on to Germany on 9th February, and we anticipate that it won’t be long before the others follow on the long journey north. Keep checking back on the website for updates on how our tagged swans are getting along with their migrations.
This tracking study is being undertaken by WWT for the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) as part of DECC’s strategic environmental assessment programme for offshore energy.
