30 Wild Marlow Days - Day 29

• In Marlow we are lucky to have a healthy population of Mute Swans on the river and lakes 🦢

  The UK is home to 3 types of swan: Mute, Bewick’s and Whooper. Mute swans stay here all year round, but the Bewick’s and Whooper travel thousands of miles from their Arctic breeding grounds to winter in the UK. Black Swans are not native to the UK, they were brought here from Australia as ornamental birds, but have managed to escape into the wild. Their requirements are similar to the Mute Swan, so they are frequently found in the same areas.

  Swans are one of the UK’s largest and heaviest birds, with a wingspan of up to 2.4 metres. The mute swan can fly at speed of up to 50 miles per hour and has over 25,000 feathers.

  A female swan is called a pen, a male swan is a cob, a baby swan is a cygnet.

  Swans generally mate for life although in some cases a cob will have two mates on different nests. It has been known for swans to die of a broken heart if they lose their partners 💚

  If you feed the swans and ducks while out on your daily exercise, these are the foods that are good for them: corn, chopped cabbage, spinach, peas and floating specialised swan and duck food pellets.

  If you see an injured swan or have any concerns about a swan, please contact Swan Support 07968 868172 or 01628 876336 info@swansupport.org.uk

  For more information on how to tell the difference between Mute, Bewick’s and Whooper Swans click here https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/search?search=swan