Welney

One of my prime motivations for going to Ely was to revisit the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) reserve at Welney. I first went about 40 years ago (!) and vividly remember being deeply moved by the spectacle of hundreds of Whooper swans flying in to roost at dusk. These swans breed in Iceland and then migrate about 1000 miles to overwinter in Britain, many of them arriving here in Welney. During the day they feed in the surrounding Fens and fields, coming in to the reserve at night. There didn't seem as many as I recall from years ago, though I understand that (partly owing to the provision and monitoring of places like Welney) global numbers are holding up well. 

The ranger was scattering grain, but it was mostly the ducks that seemed to be benefiting. My camera lens isn't really long enough for wildlife photos over this distance but I had binoculars and enjoyed identifying the different birds. The majority of the swans stayed further away from the observation hides, out on the shallow lakes, where gulls were wheeling acrobatically in the air, against the soft sunset. 

Swans usually mate for life and form recognisable family groups. Each bird has a unique pattern to the yellow and black on its beak and they can be identified from that and from rings on their legs. The juveniles have white beaks so the group below is a mum, dad and three offspring. 

As well as Whoopers, there were several species of duck and other waterfowl. My ID skills are not as practised as they used to be but I saw mallards, wigeon, pochard, tufted ducks, pintails, shovelers, coots and a shelduck. There were also some waders: masses of lapwings, flying in huge clouds, snipe and godwits rooting around in the mud. 

 There was also a white domestic goose that seemed to like to think it was a swan!