Ah swans, one of the most graceful of all birds as they glide effortlessly across the water (though of course, paddling like anything underneath). And the focus of day seven of the twelve days of Christmas.
The swan you will see all year round at Frampton Marsh is the mute swan. So called because, in comparison to other types of swan, it doesn't make much noise. This is the bird that gives us the image of swans we are all familiar with. White body, red bill with a black knob and a neck curved into a graceful 'S' shape. Vigourous in defence of their young, swan nests and young cygnets are best avoided, in case you invoke the wrath of the parents. but stories of them breaking a man's arm with a blow from the wing are probably untrue.
Mute swan by Paul Boxley
Whooper swans are a winter visitor to the reserve. Some might be from Iceland, others from the frozen lands of Siberia. They are of a similar size to mute swans, but the neck is held much straighter. The bill is both a different shape, more like a roman nose, and colour. It is a combination of yellow and black, and sometimes individual birds can be recognised by the pattern on their beak. At the moment we have maybe 20 birds around, spending the nights sleeping on the scrapes and the days feeding on nearby fields. As the name suggests, they make loud whooping cries to each other.
Whooper swan by Pascal Alexandre
Bewick's swans are the third wild swan we get in the UK. Looking very similar to whooper swans, they are a bit smaller and shorted necked. the bill is a bit different too, with rather more black on it. Not seen anywhere near as often on the reserve as their larger relatives, they are winter migrants in from Russia.
Bewick's swan by Tony Hisgett
That's it for the swans that we make a home for. Tomorrow, it is milk maids!
Reedbed, freshwater scrapes, saltmarsh and wet meadow. Frampton Marsh has it all! Come and pay us a visit soon.