Changes to farming practices in the UK didn’t cause a crash in the number of Bewick’s swans, according to new research.
The Bewick’s swan population fell by nearly 40 per cent between 1995 and 2010, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) said.
The birds have to leave the UK in peak condition to survive their gruelling migration to Russia and arrive ready to breed and rear cygnets during the brief Arctic summer.
The swans largely feed in farmers’ fields during the winter in the UK, raising concerns that intensification and mechanisation of agriculture was preventing them getting enough food.
But WWT compared the body condition of swans it has caught over 50 years to investigate whether farming was the issue or not.
Their study found no evidence to suggest swans had been prevented from getting enough food during the winter months from year to year.
WWT and partner organisations throughout the Bewick’s swans’ migratory range are still continuing to research all the possible reasons for the species’ decline, including illegal hunting, poisoning, collisions and habitat loss.
WWT Principal Research Officer, Dr Kevin Wood said the organisation has "eliminated" farming as a possible reason.
“Although the British countryside has changed considerably over the last half century, there’s no evidence that the swans are anything other than well fed while they’re here,” Dr Wood said.
“It’s good news, and we’ve eliminated one line of enquiry, which will allow us to now focus on other issues that might be affecting the swans.
“We’re currently working with researchers across the swans’ range to investigate possible causes of the population decline, which saw numbers fall by almost 40% between 1995 and 2010.”
