The UK's smallest swans are under threat

Bewick's swans each have unique markings on their bill

The UK’s rarest swan has become even rarer, new figures revealed today.

Bewick’s swans are the smallest swan in Europe, and like to spend their winter in several spots around the UK, including the Severn Estuary.

But a survey by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust showed that more than a third of the birds disappeared between 1995 and 2010. Scientists based at the Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire fear that the next census will reveal an even further decline.

The birds migrate to the UK each winter

From illegal hunting to colliding with wind farms, the Bewick’s swans face many dangers which might have led to their dropping numbers. The WWT wants to reduce the number of preventable deaths along the swans’ migration route.

It also wants to find out what’s going wrong with the swans’ breeding habits. Less than half the population tries to breed each year, and they produce just one or two chicks.

WWT is launching a new “Hope for Swans” appeal, which you can watch below. They want to put an action plan into place which will stabilise the threatened population.

Visit their website for more information about the conservation plan, or to find out where you can see the Bewick’s swans in the UK.