The beginning of October is the time to look skyward and listen for the first trumpeting calls of the Whooper Swan as they move south from Iceland to their wintering grounds. The Whoopers equivalent in North America is the Trumpeter Swan and it is probably a more suitable title as it has a loud bugling call.
Mute Swans make little sound, apart from the noise of the wind passing through their flight feathers and Bewick Swans do have a call but is more subdued than the Whooper. Bewicks are also a rare winter visitor here on the Isle of Seil.
So the group of twelve Swans flying south towards Ballachuan on Wednesday in v-formation making an awful noise were most certainly Whooper’s. They do sometimes drop down for a break on Teddy’s Pond and Ballachuan Loch, so its worth checking all Swans at this time of year.
The Whooper Swan can also be told from the Bewick’s by its larger size, longer neck and larger amount of yellow on its wedge shaped bill. It is a similar size to the Mute Swan but easily distinguished in good light by the bill colour and shape. It tends to carry its neck stiffly erect and holds its head more horizontally than the Mute Swan.
They are usually found feeding in damp grasslands, marshes, agricultural land, lakes and reservoirs. Their food consists mainly of grass, grain, potatoes and other vegetation such as the roots of aquatic plants.
They over winter here in Western Scotland, Northern Ireland, Northern England and parts of East Anglia and return north to Iceland from mid-March onwards.