Shock as beautiful protected swan cruelly 'blasted from close range'

X-rays confirmed the bird was "covered in pellets" and left on the cliff-tops near Bempton

Daniel Kemp

13:24, 10 NOV 2017

UPDATED13:26, 10 NOV 2017

A swan has been shot dead close to a popular East Riding bird-watching reserve.

X-rays confirmed the bird, which is a protected species, was “covered in pellets” and had been “blasted from fairly close range”. Killing a swan is a criminal offence

The Whooper swan had just made a 1,000-mile trip from Iceland for the winter, but was found covered in blood after a close-range shooting on a cliff-top near Bempton.

It was found on fields between the RSPB site at Bempton Cliffs and the village of Buckton.

RSPCA inspector and national wildlife officer co-ordinator, Geoff Edmond, said: “I feel outraged that this has happened.

 “These birds come down predominantly from Iceland from October onwards to spend the winter months here. In other words this bird is likely to have flown around a thousand miles to suffer this terrible fate.

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'Lonely swan' reunited with flock at RSPB reserve

12 October 2017

An injured swan which was abandoned when its herd migrated to Iceland in March has been reunited with some of its former companions.

The whooper swan, named Hula, damaged a wing and was unable to join the annual 2,000-mile round trip from Frampton March Nature Reserve in Lincolnshire.

The cob has been waiting patiently for the other birds to return, staff at the centre said.

"The lonely swan is lonely no more," Chris Andrews, from the reserve, said.

"About 20 swans arrived back from Iceland this week and are spending their days eating sugar beet tops in nearby fields before returning to the reserve at night.

"Hula spotted two other whoopers close to the reserve and went over to join them," he said.

"Since then he seems to have spent a lot of time hanging out with them."

Mr Andrews said it is not known if they are simply friends or potential mates.

Whooper swans - so named because of the noise they make - migrate to breeding grounds in Iceland in the spring. A group of up to 60 return to the reserve each year for winter.

Mr Andrews said the others are expected to return over the next few days.

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Whooper swan, not native to North America, seen near Muskrat Falls

CBC News Posted: Apr 03, 2015 7:07 AM NT Last Updated: Apr 03, 2015 7:07 AM NT

In an area that sees its fair share of people, wildlife and birds migrating through on their way somewhere else, Labrador may have just had its rarest visitor yet. 

Workers at the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project spotted an adolescent swan flying near the site about a week and a half ago. 

It turns out it was a whooper swan, a species not found in North America.

Bird enthusiast Tony Chubbs told CBC News the whooper swan breeds in Iceland and winters in Europe. He figures the juvenile bird was blown off course and separated from its migration group.

Chubbs said the bird didn't survive, likely due to exhaustion and lack of places to feed.

"I can tell from the bird [that] it's very thin, very gaunt," Chubbs said.

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