Swans get their supper in style
Hundreds of wild swans had a special treat at WWT Welney Wetland Centre on Friday night as they were fed their evening meal by Dafila Scott. Special guests including the Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Ely, as well as the Mayor and Mayoress of Downham Market were in attendance.
Dafila, daughter of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust’s founder, Sir Peter Scott, stepped out onto the main lagoon with the famous Welney wheelbarrow and scoop. Earlier in the afternoon Dafila had spotted four of the rarer, Bewick’s swans, towards the back of the lagoon. Dafila has had a close link to the Welney Centre over the years, studying the Bewick’s swans on the Ouse Washes for her PhD.
Special guests Cllr Ian Lindsay, Deputy Mayor of Ely with Suzanne Lindsay and Cllr John Fox, Mayor of Downham Market with Margaret Fox, were able to enjoy watch the feed taking place from the comfort of the centrally heated hide.
The first public floodlit feed took place on Sunday, with a good crowd enjoying commentary from the guide.
Louise Clewley, Warden said:
‘The floodlit feeds are a fantastic chance see a real life swan lake. Swans that have been out on the fields feeding throughout the day, fly back to the reserve at dusk to roost on the safety of the water.
At the start of the season, water levels are normally so good that the swans are extremely close to the hide. It also means that the birds are not spread out across the whole reserve so the number on the main lagoon at its best.’
Visitors can enjoy a range of events at WWT Welney to get closer to these amazing birds and hear about the journeys they make to spend their winter in havens like the Ouse Washes. These include the commentated wild swan feeds, swans awake mornings, swans & stars evenings and swan ring reading workshop. Floodlit swan feeds run on Thursdays to Sundays each week from now until the end of February 2016.
