We have been colour ringing the Mute Swans in Thetford for a few years now. I say we. Its the Royal ‘we’. Lee does all the catching and ringing, although I have helped on occasion.
But the benefits of adding a colour ring are really started to show, and its revealing a story that could rival the most popular soap operas. And as with any good soap opera it has been a bumper festive period.
The swans all have a colour ring as well as a metal ring, and while the colour ring is not a unique number as with the metal ring, the combination of two black digits on a yellow background on a Mute Swan is unique.
First, during the cold snap in early December, ‘HC’ turned up on the river bank by the old Argos. This female has been moving around a lot over the last few years since her mate died. They used to hold the territory on the Little Ouse River at Nun’s Bridges, until he died and ‘FH’ and ‘FF’ moved in. That pair have successfully had cygnets over the last few years, although this year just one of the five is still hanging out with mum and dad. Still they remain happily milling around Nun’s Bridges gobbling up the copious amounts of food people dish out there.
As mentioned, this has meant that without a mate and territory ‘HC’ has been wandering around, being booted out of one territory to the next.
Then the Kilverstone pair and their five cygnets decided to move down river. It has taken us a long time to catch and colour ring this pair as they previously hung around further up river near to the Garden Centre, at Kilverstone. We nick named them the ‘Kilverstone Thugs’ as they are a rather bullish pair and would aggressively defend their territory and were not as used to people. This autumn however they started venturing more and more up river, heading along the River Thet near Arlington Way and into the territory of ‘BJ’ and ‘A7’. Quite why they have decided to venture this way now we are not sure, but it might be that a new pair (even more bullyish!) have moved into the territory at Kilverstone….
The arrival of this pair along this stretch has meant we have been able to catch them as it is easier to access the river here. They now sport colour rings ‘IS’ and ‘IN’, although to me they are still known as the Kilverstone Pair. It has also meant that ‘BJ’ and ‘A7’ have run into trouble. Over the years ‘A7’ has been beaten by the Kilverstone Pair on at least three occasions, and has had to be taken into care for a checkup. ‘BJ’ and ‘A7’ have however nested here every year, and while they have laid eggs they have not successfully hatched or raised any cygnets. With the Kilverstone Pair and their family now patrolling this stretch more regularly we had began to wonder where ‘BJ’ and ‘A7’ had gone.
The other pair of swans that are resident within Thetford are ‘CA’ and ‘FS’. They defend the stretch of the River Thet right the way from Butten Island/old Argos up past the Priory and to the sewage farm. They usually nest in the reeds further up this stretch, although they too have been unsuccessful in hatching any cygnets, but otherwise they defend the water around Butten Island with vengeance. It is another lucrative spot for feeding.
Just before Christmas, as I was walking the dog past the Mill and Butten Island, I came across two swans on the footpath and one in the river. Curious I approached to find ‘CA’ in the river and ‘HC’ on the footpath along with non other than ‘BJ’. Its not necessarily unusual for him to be around this area, as the River Thet joins the Little Ouse River at this point. However he would usually be on his own, and for him to be sat comfortably in the presence of ‘HC’ suggested something could be amiss with ‘A7’. Could this be the start of a beautiful new relationship that might see ‘HC’ find a mate again, and ‘BJ’ become a father? Only time will tell.
Having been away ourselves over the Holiday period it was interesting to see what the status quo would be in the New Year.
Our first couple of walks along the river in early January revealed the Kilverstone Pair and their cygnets still roaming the River Thet near Ford Meadow, ‘FF’ and ‘FH’ and their cygnet milling around at Nun’s Bridges, and ‘HC’ and ‘BJ’ still perched on the bank at the old Argos/Butten Island with ‘CA’ patrolling the water making sure they made no attempt to get in. But where was ‘FS’. Usually he would be in the water too, close to ‘CA’ and defending this stretch for at least part of the day.
It was not until the following day, and the off chance that I decided to walk up river away from town and take a look at the Little Ouse River near to the Priory and the Abbey Estate. Just past the weir and lo and behold there he was! I was relieved to see him but something seemed a little off. As I approached I noticed a fishing lure dangling near his side and the hook embedded in his leg. It must have been painful, and while he seemed fine milling around he would not bear weight on it. Luckily for me I know someone who is pretty good at catching swans, and we have a colleague who used to work for the RSPCA.
In the end it was pretty straight forward to catch him and remove the hook. We will however be keeping a close eye on him incase it becomes infected.
Phew! The lives of our Thetford Swan’s could give any soap opera a run for its money! Yet, the only way we know about these comings, goings, chopping, changes and dramas is because they have unique identifying rings on.
Wild Barley 