The arrival of thousands of Bewick’s swans to the wetlands of England was once a common sight.
However, the smallest and rarest of Britain’s three species of swan has now vanished from many of its former haunts, with fewer birds now making the journey here from their breeding grounds in Siberia.
Just 1,278 Bewick’s were counted here as part of the latest International Swan Census in January 2020 – a new low. By comparison, 7,100 were counted in 2010 and 4,392 in 2015.
