Whooper swan

In other winters, not a swan is seen.

During a very sharp and protracted frost in January 1879, I counted in two flocks 53 hoopers, Cygnus musicus.

They were wheeling in an unsettled and distrustful way around Braden, far above gunshot, to the annoyance of quite a regiment of punt and shore gunners who were hiding and skulking, eager for a shot.

Not one was killed.

In March, odd birds and small flocks are occasionally observed passing northward.

The note of this bird, as I have heard it, seems to me to resemble a very bad imitation of the curlews.

As far as I have been able to note, the appearances of swans, the Buick swan, Cygnus buicki, occurs more frequently, although not in such large flocks.

Certain seasons have seen on the poulterer's stalls only birds of this species.

We've been there a number of times before to see the famous starling murmurations.

But this time I met up with Derry Kilroy to see the hooper swans who arrive here for the winter.

Now, while I went to see the hooper swans, a pair of local mute swans put on a magnificent mating display for us.

Usually around October, the first when it gets a little bit cold and if you're lucky enough in the morning to hear the sound of them flying over, they're like geese, they honk.

And I'm told it takes about 36 hours to travel from Iceland, so they're usually quite tired.

Foxes, and we

do actually have mink here as well, which have been hard to control, and they will take the swan's eggs as well, so they have to be careful. . ¶¶

Oh, the wonderful sound of hooper swans.

In other winters not a swan is seen.

During a very sharp and protracted frost in January 1879, I counted in two flocks 53 hoopers, Cygnus musicus.

They were wheeling in an unsettled and distrustful way around Braden, far above gunshot, to the annoyance of quite a regiment of punt and shore gunners who were hiding and skulking, eager for a shot.

Not one was killed.

In March, odd birds and small flocks are occasionally observed passing northward.

The note of this bird, as I have heard it, seems to me to resemble a very bad imitation of the curlews.

As far as I have been able to note, the appearances of swans, the Buick swan, Cygnus buicki, occurs more frequently, although not in such large flocks.

Certain seasons have seen on the poulterer's stalls only birds of this species.

Besides the Mute Swan, two of the species are British, in the sense of visiting our area to winter.

Whooper Swan.

This fine bird, the Cygnus musicus of Bechstein, as well as most modern ornithologists, is a tolerably common winter visitor to the British Islands, frequenting inland waters as well as the coasts.

It is of more frequent occurrence in Scotland than in England or Ireland.

The Whooper, sometimes rendered Hooper or Whistling Swan, both names being derived from the bird's notes, may be distinguished from its two British allies by having the basal portion of the bill extending below the nostrils yellow.

Like many of the species that visit us during winter from the high north, its numbers vary a good deal in different years, according to the mildness or severity of the winter in regions lying directly north or northeast of our area.

In periods of long continued frost, great numbers of this swan collect off certain parts of our coasts, driven seawards from inland waters.

Gätker remarks that at Heligoland this swan is seen most frequently during long continued frost, flights of ten, twenty or more passing in long rows, one behind the other, uttering their loud clanging cries as they go.

The place was alive with chaff inches.

It's also brambling here, calling hooper swan, calls of hooded crow before a black woodpecker flies in, giving flight calls and eventually some flea calls.

As I say, an absolutely wonderful autumnal background here.

This is black woodpecker at Hallagern.

I haven't been there in the winter.

I would imagine it's quite possible the birds are still up there at the moment as it's been a very mild winter.

But hooper swan is the species and it's one of the sounds of the island in the autumn.

I recorded this bird in late September, I recorded the most noise in fact, this is just one of the better recordings of these species.

In other winters not a swan is seen.

During a very sharp and protracted frost in January 1879, I counted in two flocks 53 hoopers, Cygnus musicus.

They were wheeling in an unsettled and distrustful way around Braydon, far above gunshot, to the annoyance of quite a regiment of punt and shore gunners who were hiding and skulking, eager for a shot.

Not one was killed.

In March, odd birds and small flocks are occasionally observed passing northward.

The note of this bird, as I have heard it, seems to me to resemble a very bad imitation of the curlew's.

As far as I have been able to note, the appearances of swans, the Bewick's swan, Cygnus bewicki, occurs more frequently, although not in such large flocks.

Certain seasons have seen on the poulterer's stalls only birds of this species.