21 Year Old Swan Returns

4th January 2010

WWT Martin Mere has seen the return of our oldest known Whooper Swan, nick named ‘The Wanderer’. At the age of 21 years old, this bird could have travelled an estimated 40,000 miles in his lifetime.

The swan, ring number V3T, was first ringed in Iceland in August 1988 as a male cygnet and has been a regular visitor to Martin Mere over the years. Whooper Swans spend the summer breeding over in Iceland before making the staggering 1000 mile journey to England to spend the winter, many of which come to Martin Mere and can be as young as four months old when they make the journey.

Centre Manager, Andy Wooldridge, said: “It is certainly a credit to our reserve team that they create such a perfect location for the swans to return year after year. We are part of an international ringing project for the Whooper swans and this now allows us to identify swans, learn about their characteristics and create family trees for them; it is always exciting to hear the new stories every year and a joy to welcome back the Wanderer.”

There are currently over 1000 Whooper swans using the mere and you can see the spectacle for yourself when the swans are fed everyday at 3pm from Swan Link hide and 3.30pm from Raines Observatory. The 3.30pm feed includes a wardens talk.

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