I.D. Guides Issued as Swans Migrate Across Europe

© Dominic Heard

Simple guides to help people identify different swans are being issued across northern Europe ahead of the migration of the rare Bewick’s swan.The guides have been designed by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) after finding that few people know that not all swans are the same species, or that one species is in danger.Last autumn, WWT conservationist Sacha Dench flew in a paramotor with the Bewick’s swans on their migration from the Russian arctic to the UK. The people she met along the way generally assumed that swans were thriving. As soon as they heard that the number of Bewick’s swans making this journey has nearly halved, they wanted to help.The identification guides are available online and easy to share, print or keep on a smartphone so they can be used in the field. They are just one of several measures being implemented following Sacha Dench’s expedition. Speaking from WWT’s headquarters at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire, UK, she said:“I set out to follow the Bewick’s swans’ as closely as I could to see the journey through their eyes, and find out whether we, as conservationists, are missing anything in our efforts to stop their decline. “I found loads of clues that we’re following up with specific groups and in specific places, but the thing that really struck me everywhere I visited was that people simply weren’t even aware that the small swans – the Bewick’s swans – are a different species. And as soon as they found out and heard that they are in trouble, they wanted to know what they could do to help.“It seems like a small thing but, multiplied across 11 countries, 4,500km and millions of people, one small change could make the difference. And if it can, it’s worth trying.”Other initiatives include:

• a network of swan champions among people living and working in the remote Arctic, who Sacha met while crossing the tundra
• information on swans included with hunting licenses issued in the Arkhangelsk region of Russia
• a collaboration between Danish and Polish hunting groups to trial the use of alternatives to toxic lead shot, as used in Denmark, that will be shared across other countries
• a collaboration between carp pond managers and conservationists in Poland to manage the ponds to benefit the swans as they pass through on migration
• a charter agreed by paramotorists and conservationists in Belgium, so that paramotorists can enjoy wetlands without disturbing birds at crucial times of the year. This is a model that can be implemented in other areas where human activity comes into conflict with the swans.

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and their conservation partners in each country also hope that the interest in the swans from Sacha Dench’s paramotor flight will encourage more people to help record the swans’ movements on migration.Sacha Dench said:“There are fewer than 18,000 Bewick’s swans left in Europe. We can’t track every individual, but hundreds are fitted with coded plastic rings on their legs, which can be read through binoculars. Currently we have a network of around 20 people who report when they see these marked birds on migration, but that’s not many spread across 11 countries. If we could even just double that number, it would help us implement new conservation measures to help the swans.”For more information people can visit www.flightoftheswans.org, where they can also follow the journeys of individual Bewick’s swans that have been fitted with GPS transmitters.

It's worth mentioning that Whooper swan and mute swan populations are in good health, whereas the number of Bewick’s swans has almost halved in Northern Europe in the last twenty years.

The Bewick’s swans depart from their roosts at WWT’s headquarters at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire, UK and at WWT Welney on the Ouse Washes in Norfolk, UK on clear nights towards the end of February. They then make their way eastwards in steps over the following eleven weeks, crossing Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Russia before reaching their breeding grounds near the mouth of the Pechora Delta in the Russian arctic in early May.Bewick’s swans look similar to other swan species, especially whooper swans, but they are in trouble. The number of Bewick’s swans in Europe and western Russia has declined by 40% in the last 20 years. There are fewer than 18,000 left. Bewick’s swans complete an extraordinary migration. Each year they travel 8,000km from the Russian arctic to the Netherlands and the UK and back again.It is illegal to kill or injure Bewick’s swans anywhere in Europe or western Russia. However, the swans face many threats:

• Loss of wetlands
  The journey is very hard and along the way the swans stop at wetlands to rest and feed before continuing their journey. Wetlands are also very useful for people and many wetlands have been adapted for human use, by draining to make places to live or farmland. The remaining wetlands are often used by people for recreation, but if those hobbies repeatedly disturb the swans from feeding and resting, then they’re less likely to successfully complete their journey.
• Illegal shootingScientists have found from x-rays that more than 1/3 of living Bewick’s swans have been shot. This means that a lot of swans are being shot, either intentionally or by mistake, even though it is illegal to shoot Bewick’s swans.
• Lead poisoning
  Shooting with lead shot can harm Bewick’s swans even if they are not directly shot or disturbed. Lead is poisonous and Bewick’s swan mistakenly eat spent lead shot that falls to the ground. Just a small number of lead pellets is enough to make a swan very sick and could even kill it.
• Collisions with powerlines
  Bewick’s swans, and other large birds, are known to collide with power lines and die. The lines can be hard to see against the sky, especially in low light.

What you can do:

1. If you find an injured swan, call a vet.
2. If you are concerned that power lines near you are a risk to swans, contact the power company. They may be able to fit bird diverters to the lines so they are more visible. Fewer collisions means fewer power cuts too, so preventing them is good for everyone!
3. If you shoot, please consider using non-toxic shot, such as steel.
4. Learn how to tell the difference between the different swans and geese. Tell other people and let them know that Bewick’s swans are in trouble.
5. If you do an activity near water that might disturb Bewick’s swans or other birds that rely on wetlands, then contact your local nature organisation. They can advise when and where activities will have less impact on the birds. And let others know, they may not be aware that disturbing birds can seriously reduce their chances of completing their migration.
6. Support your local wildlife organisation. Now that you know the difference between the different swans, you could help monitor them.
7. You can report sightings of Bewick’s swans, along with details of their ring, location and date to colourmarkedswans@wwt.org.uk