Haven't been to Slimbridge for a while - it maybe too late for the Starlings - around November time a 100,000 of them fly in beautiful waves across the skies there at dusk - don't miss it if you haven't seen it. Give Slimbridge a call it really is amazing!
And Slimbridge like many organisations working with the natural world know how climate change is already having huge impacts locally. The swans are just one small change.
I Went to see the Bewick swans being fed at Slimbridge five years ago with my granddaughters. It was one of the most magical things I have ever seen.There were so many swans gliding about on the ponds it was like a real-life Swan Lake.
Fortunately for us, there were only about 15 people in the hut so we could watch the feeding and hear about the families of the swans that went to the same place in the pond year after year, and were actually recognised by the keeper as he fed them.
It was all the more amazing as it can take a team of scientists weeks to find even one pair of swans in their summer feeding grounds on the tundra.
I went again last January and it was not a very pleasant experience - the hut was packed out, lots of people had tripods and cameras sticking out all over the place and, worst of all, there were hardly any swans. We were told that they hadn't arrived yet.
I heard that the swans were now wintering further north because of climate change and so I contacted Philip Booth of Gloucestershire Green Party, as Slimbridge is in that area, and asked if he could verify what had been said.
He quoted Dr Simon Pickering: "The number of migratory Bewick swans and migratory white-fronted geese wintering at Slimbridge has declined over the last few years. They are wintering further north in Europe due to the milder winters ... a stark reminder of climate change."
Christine Prior, by email.
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