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Whooper Swan in England during Summer? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Puffins4Life
- Start date
Richard Prior
Halfway up an Alp
Haha, in fact it could well be from Fountains Abbey/ Studley Royal where for years there have been some Whoopers which can fly but are no doubt originally captive bred and non- migratory.
Whoopers sometimes over summer. It may be because they're injured or unwell so couldn't migrate. They're known to breed in Britain too.
Richard Prior
Halfway up an Alp
Good points Andrew, but the location of this individual so close to the feral Fountains birds makes me think it’s (probably!) not of wild origin.
Puffins4Life
Puffins4Life
Ya, this area of the Nidd is close to Ripley, which is kind of close to Fountains Abbey. I walk down here all the time for the past two years and have never seen a Whooper Swan. I've not seen a Whooper at Fountains Abbey either, at least not over the last winter.
Andrea Collins
Well-known member
An adult Whooper spent some time in my local area last June mingling with the resident Mute Swans that frequent a small estuary at Haverigg in the south west corner of Cumbria.
At low tide it spent time feeding out on the mudflats of the River Duddon estuary. It appeared to have some problem with its foot, often lifting it off the ground and shaking it vigorously. However, it didn't have a limp when it walked and appeared to be otherwise healthy.
At high tide it was feeding with the Mute swans in a small subsidiary estuary. It was as approachable as the Mute Swans so I couldn't decide whether it was an escaped bird or whether it was an individual that spent the winter at one of the WWT reserves and was therefore less bothered by the approach of humans, but had been unable to follow other Whoopers on their journey north.
Whatever the reason for its presence it disappeared after a couple of weeks and wasn't seen again.
At low tide it spent time feeding out on the mudflats of the River Duddon estuary. It appeared to have some problem with its foot, often lifting it off the ground and shaking it vigorously. However, it didn't have a limp when it walked and appeared to be otherwise healthy.
At high tide it was feeding with the Mute swans in a small subsidiary estuary. It was as approachable as the Mute Swans so I couldn't decide whether it was an escaped bird or whether it was an individual that spent the winter at one of the WWT reserves and was therefore less bothered by the approach of humans, but had been unable to follow other Whoopers on their journey north.
Whatever the reason for its presence it disappeared after a couple of weeks and wasn't seen again.
One has been reported down in Carms recently as well.
Rich
Rich
Richard Prior
Halfway up an Alp
Ah, apologies, I’m probably out of date regarding the presence of the Whoopers at Fountains then, no doubt one of the local birders will have more up to date info on this bird.
Puffins4Life
Puffins4Life
I'm going to chalk it up to an injured or sick bird who missed the window to get back to Iceland. I'll check again next time I'm at the river to see if it is still around.
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
There's been a couple around Tyneside (southeast Northumbs and northeast Co Durham) until about a week ago; one of them was caught and colour-ringed (yellow ZHZ), the other unringed. Not sure if either has been seen in the last week though. Photo: 20 May, Killingworth Lake, Northumbs.
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Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
If you're on twitter, go to @andyrick_birds he ringed it in May 2020 at Killingworth Lake, Northumbs. I can pass the details on to him too.
PS Welcome to Birdforum!
PS Welcome to Birdforum!
