Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)
Species
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus). Taken at Welney, Cambs, on January 2nd 2005.
Taken at Welney, Cambs, on January 2nd 2005.
(Click image for larger version. Click image for larger version. © David Hastings)

Description

L: 140 - 160cm; WS: 205 - 235cm

The Whooper swan is a large white swan, bigger than a Bewick's but smaller than a Mute. It has a long thin neck, which it usually holds erect, and black legs. Its black bill has a large triangular patch of yellow on it.

Its breeding range is Iceland, northern Europe and Russia. It is mainly a winter visitor to the British Isles.

It breeds on tundra pools and small lakes with sheltering vegetaion, on damp bogs and in marshes.

Has a loud, bugling call, similar to that of the Bewick's Swan.

Its UK conservation status is amber, owing to its winter population and small breeding numbers.

Sightings

11-Feb-2020 : Cote, Oxon (5)

10-Jan-2015 : Lower Radley, Oxon (2)

27-Dec-2013 : Otmoor, Oxon (3)

02-Jan-2005 : Welney, Norfolk