🦢 The Great Swan Odyssey: The Migration of the Bewick's Swan

As I said in Part 1, the behaviour of these elegant and beautiful birds, so familiar a winter visitor to regular human visitors to WWT Slimbridge, is changing drastically. The reason for that is our impact on the planet.

The background to this phenomenon is summarised below but before that, let me tell you what I found… A truly epic flatlands consisting of vast wetland National Parks, rich arable agricultural land with big skies and big weather to match. The air is filled with the sound of geese and waders and everywhere you look there is something to see. Flocks of waders in the shallows of The Wadden Sea and skeins of birds criss-cross the broad and sometime brooding skies. Find your spot for Harriers and Sea Eagles. And immensely important for me on this trip to watch the family bliss of these elegant small swans. With big skies come big sunrises and sunsets and with sparse population comes the most magnificent dark skies.

The roads aren’t busy and, like us, the Dutch love a nice café. Be sure to try the Gevulde koek, a traditional really tasty almond biscuit that goes brilliantly with a cup of coffee.  I took the DFDS Ferry from Dover to Dunkirk service to drive the 5 ½ hours driving time. You can always buy the EU motoring essentials like deflectors and Alcotest in the ferry shop.

I stayed at the Siblu Holiday Park at Lauwersoog in one of their nicely decked out cabins. The park is quiet in the winter but still maintains all of the essential facilities – like all the comforts of home and the onsite pub and restaurant! And ts great for exploring the Lauwersmeer National Park. You’ll see that it is possible to drive around the National Park on single track roads (often adjacent to the main road). If you do use these, please park considerately and keep the speed really low as they are often mixed use and used by local cyclists. Alternatively take or hire a bicycle and use these safer roads to explore. The Dutch have a much more relaxed attitude to cycling than some of us and many of the roads are flat! There are no tolls on the road journey (remember to drive on the right) and the scenery is often stunning. It costs a Euro to use the loo on the motorway services. Most of the ticket machines are now card only but take a Euro coin as well. Keep your voucher which can be partly reclaimed in the café at the same services.

I found the people of the Netherlands to be extremely friendly and helpful. My Dutch is awful, but it helps to learn to say please – Alsjeblieft - and thank you – Bedankt - it’s not difficult and I found that, in a nation that generally speaks very good English, making the effort was appreciated.

The Epic Route and Arrival: Breeding primarily in the vast tundra of Arctic Russia, the Bewick's swans begin their westward migration typically in October, driven by the onset of freezing temperatures that would lock up their feeding grounds in ice. The Destination: Their traditional wintering grounds have historically included freshwater wetlands and farmland across Southern England, notably the Severn Estuary (home to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) at Slimbridge) and the fenlands of East Anglia (like the Ouse and Nene Washes).

The Journey: This enormous flight path takes them across multiple countries, including the Baltic states, Poland, Germany, and the Netherlands, before reaching the UK. The journey is fraught with danger, including predation, the risk of collisions with power lines, and illegal hunting. A Family Affair: Migration is a deeply social experience for Bewick's swans. Extended family groups—parents, cygnets, and even older offspring—make the perilous journey together, reinforcing the strong, monogamous bonds for which they are known. Scientists at WWT Slimbridge have been able to study these family dynasties for decades, recognizing individuals by their unique, "fingerprint-like" bill patterns. A Changing Landscape: The Threat of 'Short-Stopping' While the migration itself is a testament to the swans' endurance, recent decades have seen a worrying change in their travel patterns, largely attributed to climate change.

Milder Winters: As continental Europe experiences increasingly warmer winters, many swans are exhibiting "short-stopping"—flying shorter distances and choosing to overwinter in countries like Germany and the Netherlands, rather than continuing to the western edge of their range in the UK.

Individual Flexibility: Research suggests that this shift is driven by individual choice. Swans, particularly younger generations, are individually flexible and adjust their autumn migration distance based on local weather conditions. Warmer temperatures mean they simply do not need to fly as far south and west to find ice-free water and accessible food.

Later Arrivals: This effect is clear in the UK, with the first arrivals often being recorded later in the season than in previous years, signifying a potential long-term territorial shift for the species.

Conservation Challenges: The Bewick's swan population is now classified as Vulnerable on the Red List, facing a significant decline. Beyond the impact of climate change on their wintering locations, other key threats include: Illegal Hunting: Often mistaken for geese or other bird species in low light, they are illegally hunted along their flyway.

Lead Poisoning: Swans are susceptible to ingesting spent lead ammunition from shotguns while feeding, which can be fatal.

Habitat Loss: The continuous loss and degradation of healthy wetland habitats across their entire range poses a severe challenge. In response, conservation efforts—like WWT's long-running study and the "Flight of the Swans" expedition—have focused on collaboration with governments and communities across the swans' flyway, utilizing GPS tracking and community engagement to ensure the survival of this magnificent migratory bird. The annual return of the Bewick's swan remains a cherished event, a hopeful sign of winter's arrival. However, their changing migration patterns are a powerful and visible reminder of how global environmental shifts are impacting the natural world.

If you would like to learn more about the unique bill-pattern study that allows scientists to track individual Bewick's swans and their families? Visit the WWT Slimbridge website for more. https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/slimbridge

It’s really important to say that Slimbridge remains the jewel in the crown of southwest winter birdwatching. Those clever people at the trust now manage some the of the marshes and fields a little wetter than the swans would have liked it. The result is great flocks of Lapwings, Curlews, Golden plover and all sorts of other wading birds are still finding the River Severn the best place to spend the winter!

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