The Famous Berwick Swans
Over the years the
town of Berwick-upon-Tweed has become home to the second largest mute swan
colony in Britain. The swans are now such a familiar feature of the Tweed
estuary that they have become a well-known tourist attraction, and at peak times
almost 800 birds have been counted on the river. The Berwick herd is what is
known as a ‘moulting colony’, and this means that numbers fluctuate throughout
the year. There are around 200 permanent residents (mainly non-breeding adults
and juvenile birds) but the size of the herd increases in late summer and
through the winter as swans from other areas arrive to undergo the annual moult
or to take advantage of the rich feeding at the Tweed estuary.
Not all mute swans join moulting colonies: birds that nest and rear young will
moult on their own breeding territory, but may fly in as a family group to join
the Berwick herd once the moult is completed. Other young birds arrive at
Berwick from October onwards to overwinter, or for longer periods. When the
moult is completed many of the adult birds return to their home waters.
During the six week period of the moult swans require a steady supply of food.
The wing pinions are among the first feathers to be shed, leaving the birds
completely flightless and unable to visit favoured feeding grounds, so it is not
surprising that many choose to gather on estuaries such as the Tweed before the
moult begins. Britain’s estuaries remain ice-free during the winter months, and
are one of the most fertile of all natural environments. Around half of Europe’s
waders and huge numbers of wildfowl overwinter in and around our estuaries, and
although we usually think of mute swans as freshwater birds they regularly eat
seaweeds and algae in salt water. In autumn it is not unusual to see groups of
Berwick swans swimming round the pier and into the sea bay at Meadow Haven to
feed along the shore.
Britain’s largest
mute swan colony at Abbotsbury in Dorset is unusual in that the birds nest close
together in a colony, having been fed, provided with nest sites, and cared for
by swanherds for almost 900 years. In contrast, the Berwick swans do not breed
at the estuary, and the nearest nesting site is several miles upstream at the
mouth of the river Whiteadder. It is, however, possible that Berwick’s past
connections with royalty meant that in medieval times swans were farmed locally
to provide food for state banquets.
Accurate records of the numbers of swans at Berwick have only been kept since
the 1950’s, but it is clear that the population increased considerably in the
latter part of the twentieth century. Elderly residents report having seen very
few swans at the beginning of the century, but by the 1950’s over 200 birds were
being recorded annually, and in September 1994 a record 787 birds were counted.
This increase in numbers mirrors the growth of the mute swan population
throughout the country as a whole.