The last of the cygnets at Lambeg?
Something’s up with the swans at the Lagan Valley Regional Park.
According to the LVRP rangers, there aren’t as many swans as we could have and it’s a mystery. Over the past 1½ years there has been only one successful brood, with four cygnets making it to adulthood. That was last year. This year – nada, zip, zilch. A lonely six adults now drift along the 11- mile stretch – two pairs and two singles, plus the four juveniles.
Perhaps the best known swan couple, the Stranmillis pair, have never been known to reproduce. We were all starting to wonder when one of them disappeared for a few months. A swan did return eventually – itchy feet, mid-life crisis…or alien abduction?! Meanwhile in Lambeg, one adult died and another vanished this year. The ‘vanished’ swan may have just left if its partner died.
The mystery has Park rangers and regular visitors scratching their heads. Just what is the problem? Something in the water? Could it be disturbance during the spring nesting period? Perhaps too many dogs or people curious about the nests, which can be often be seen from the towpath and are within throwing distance for breadcrusts.
Without some peace and quiet, swans won’t breed, and may move on eventually. Yet other, equally busy, parks are teeming with swans. Swans are generally happy around people, but breeding time is a different story.
So it's even more lamentable, given the circumstances, that people persecute these rare residents. Recently, two swans at Seymour Hill were shot by crossbows. It has been confirmed that they were the two adults who have made this stretch of the Lagan their home for ages. Fortunately the USPCA were able to rescue the swans, and after treatment by their vet and a stay in a safe refuge, the swans will be released in a new location. Outside the Park alas, which means the loss of another pair. These two produced young but not in the past couple of years – makes one wonder!
The RSPB is a member of the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime (PAW). The PAW working group in Northern Ireland includes organisations such as the PSNI, NIEA, RSPB, USPCA, Forest Service, Countryside Alliance Ireland, British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) and other statutory bodies and NGOs, all working in partnership to raise awareness of, and tackle, wildlife crime.
It can be lonely being a swan.
If you see an incident taking place, contact your local police station on 08456008000 or Crimestoppers 08005551111, or Lagan Valley Park officials, immediately. Staff are at the Lock Keeper’s Cottage 9-5 Mondays to Fridays, or phone 9049 1922. There is an answering service which is checked daily.
You can also report a wildlife crime and learn more about this issue by going to www.defra.gov.uk/paw.
The USPCA rescues and looks after wild and domestic animals injured, mistreated or in distress. To learn more about their work, go to: www.uspca.co.uk and to report an injured animal contact their Animal Information Line 028 9081 4242.
So if you any theories about the mystery of the swans please email us - all ideas, sightings, etc. welcome!
An increasingly rare sight along the Lagan.
All photos provided by the Lagan Valley Regional Park.