The Journey of Super Whoopers
No, the title doesn’t refer to burgers, there’s an ‘o’ too many and a ‘p’ too few, but with names such as Moyola, Sixmilewater and Blidfinnur you’d be excused for being confused.
It refers to Super Whooper Swans and their migration between Iceland, Britain and Ireland. A journey you can now follow thanks to the UK charity The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT).
The swans travel from their breeding grounds in Iceland to Britain and Ireland for the winter and back to Iceland in the spring - a journey of more than 800 km (500 miles) which can take up to 4.5 days according to WWT.
The journey is not without peril for the swans. So in order to learn more about the route that the swans take and the dangers they face, the WWT has fitted transmitters to a small number of Whooper Swans.
Seven swans were tracked during their winter migration last year from Iceland to Britain and Ireland. A total of 9 swans are being tracked for the current spring migration, which you can follow on a Google Map on the WWT website.
Moyola, Ballinderry, Blackwater and Maine have already made it to Iceland. As you’re reading this Blidfinnur is getting tantalisingly close. Jaleel began the journey on 2 April, but thought better of it and returned to Ireland on 6 April. Sixmilewater and Bann seem to be in no hurry to leave for Iceland, but Fiachra has everyone worried. He was last tracked on 5 April when he was way off course just off the south coast of Greenland.
You can read all about the Super Whooper Swans and follow their progress on the WWT website, read the Super Whooper Diary and watch video clips of the swans. The video clips include an absolutely superb clip of swans being transported on a boat. The swans look like they are enjoying the free ride.
Regular Travel Cooler readers may also remember a similar type of tracking of leatherback sea turtles in last year’s Great Turtle Race. (Join The Great Turtle Race)
External Links:
WWT’s video clips of Super Whooper Swans
WWT’s clip of swans being transported on a boat.
TAGS: Super Whooper Swans
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