Britain’s northerly population of whooper swans have successfully raised cygnets on Loch of Spiggie, Shetland, for the first time in 92 years. After an absence of more than nine decades, the pair produced five whooper swans this summer at the RSPB reserve – giving a boost to the Amber Listed species.
The pair attempted to breed for the first time last year but failed to produce any young, this is not uncommon in newly established pairs. This year the pair bred again and resulted in the hatching of five eggs. Unfortunately, one of the five cygnets was preyed on by other wildlife, taking the number down to four.
The remaining fledglings have overcome the first few dangerous months when they are most vulnerable to predators and have been happily swanning around RSPB Loch of Spiggie with their parents.
Helen Moncrieff, RSPB Shetland Warden (South), said, “This is fantastic news for the population of whooper swans on Shetland. We’ve done our best to ensure the swans were not disturbed by people visiting the loch and this seems to have paid off with the arrival of four young.
“The swans will stay as a family until late winter or early spring and then the four youngsters will be able to fend for themselves.
More information of the whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus):
No comments:
Post a Comment