A couple of years ago, my family were arranging a surprise birthday party for my father. On occasions, when Dad has had one or two small sherries at a gathering, he'll laugh about making whoopee. I thought that this was simply a reference to a good party. So, I sent out cards to various aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, old and young, inviting them to a night of "Making Whoopee." Then someone told me that making whoopee can actually means something else a bit saucy - well, I was a tad embarrassed! I don't think any offence was taken, thankfully!!
What's that wee story got to do RSPB, I hear you say. Well, the other day as we were looking at Loch of Spiggie, the whooper swans were quite vocal and restless. A few gathered in a field, adjacent to the loch. There was lots of posturing, flapping, nodding, chasing, snapping... spring was in the air the whoopers were thinking about making whoopee themselves. It was one of those dark sky days, with occasional beams of sunlight breaking through. When the swans were backlit, with the greening grass and blue loch - it was just beautiful. A little comical too, seeing the grand and graceful swans going from a ballet-style courtship to a Benny Hill chase.
Photo by Ben Hall, www.rspb-images.com
Wintering whooper swans are one of the reasons why Loch of Spiggie is designated a SSSI. Some whooper swans remain in Shetland year round, with breeding attempts occurring annually since 1994. In 1907 a wounded bird from nearby Loch of Clumlie was captured and released on Loch of Spiggie where it joined another maimed bird. In 1910, the pair bred, raising three young, and went on to breed irregularly until the end of the First World War. Any young reared usually departed the following spring. The pair were shot in the winter of 1919/20 ( "The Birds Of Shetland" by Pennington et al).
101 years after the first attempt, whoopers attempted to breed again on the reserve in 2011. The pair were not successful in bringing out young (we don't know why, but this is not uncommon in newly established pairs and an otter family have been spotted in the area), and we are hopeful for the breeding season ahead. Disturbance could be an issue and we ask people to please take care to not disturb breeding birds. Anglers should exercise extra caution when fishing around the south end of the loch, and not fish near the Setter Marsh area. We'll put up signs at access points if it looks like the birds are going to settle.
If they do bring out cygnets this year, you can imagine that I'll be saying "whoopeee!!!"
Thanks for reading!