Whoopee: Whooper swan population highest recorded in Ireland

A census has revealed that whooper swan numbers increased to the highest level ever recorded in Ireland last year.

However, the breed known as “Bewick’s swan” look set to be lost from Ireland in the coming years.

The 8th International Swan Census, which took place in January 2020 set out to locate and count every whooper swan and Bewick’s swan in the country.

It found a total of 19,111 whooper swans, 14,467 in the Republic of Ireland and 4,644 in Northern Ireland.

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The number is the highest ever recorded in Ireland and represents a 27 percent increase in the whooper swan population since the previous census in 2015.

Some 550 flocks were recorded in Ireland, with largest numbers in counties Offaly, Galway, Roscommon and Donegal in the Republic, and Derry and Antrim in the North.

In the Republic, wetlands along the river Shannon, and its lakes and tributaries were a particular a stronghold for the species.

However, there was sad news in relation to Bewick’s swan, which was found to be in continued decline in Ireland.

Bewick’s swans nest in Arctic Russia during the summer, and winter in northern Europe, Britain and Ireland. As climate change has caused milder winters on the continent, many Bewick’s swans have been “short-stopping”, that is, not flying as far as Ireland, simply because they don’t need to anymore. Migration is a hugely difficult undertaking, so they won’t burn through their energy and fat reserves if they don’t have to. This, coupled with declines in the size of the international Bewick’s swan population, has seen the Irish contingent getting smaller and smaller each winter.

Only 12 Bewick’s swans were recorded in Ireland for the census – 11 in Wexford and a lone bird in Roscommon, and it’s expected that they will cease to be found in Ireland altogether in the near future.

Brian Burke of BirdWatch Ireland, who co-ordinated the survey in the Republic said “our whooper swans breed in Iceland during the summer and spend the winter in Ireland and Britain. Results from previous censuses had indicated that the Irish-wintering population of whooper swans was starting to plateau – so we really weren’t expecting this level of increase” .

“They’re a species that is deep-rooted in Irish mythology, and still today they really captivate people right across the country when they arrive in the autumn, so we’re delighted to see them doing so well,” he said.

Mr Burke said the continued decline in numbers of Bewick’s swans was disappointing.

Minister of State for Heritage Malcolm Noonan said the census showed “the positive impact of the work done by farmers, landowners and National Parks and Wildlife (NPWS) staff within the NPWS Farm Plan Scheme to protect these beautiful birds”.

He said it also highlighted the value of the “Goose and Swan” agri-environment measure in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s GLAS initiative.