Whooper Swan
Scientific name:
Cygnus cygnus
What they like
Quiet. Lots of quiet. Large, open ponds and lakes with wide reedbeds and shallow edges. In winter it also likes wet grasslands and flooded arable fields where it can feed safely. Make it attractive: leave the shoreline untidy. Reed and bulrush (cattail) may be left standing. In parks or yards: opt for a gently sloping bank instead of a neatly embanked edge. On farmland: allow space for shallow, seasonally flooded areas (plas-dras) and broad, wet buffer strips.
Ecological importance
Grazer with a mission: eats aquatic plants and grass, keeping banks and shallows open and dynamic. That benefits other species. It is mainly preyed on by foxes (especially chicks) and, in some areas, by large birds of prey; quiet and good visibility make the difference.
When in the Netherlands
Primarily a winter visitor: roughly from November through March. Numbers peak in cold winters. Breeds very occasionally in the Netherlands since 2005.
Status
Winter visitor. In the Netherlands scarce to fairly scarce, with numbers varying each winter.
The Sound of..
OH NOOOOO, what does the Whooper Swan sound like?! We don't have any good recordings of this cheerful whistler in our database yet. Do you know? Have you ever heard it? Or do you have a good recording of this species? Let us know and email: [email protected]
We keep refining this text. Missing something or is something not right? Mail [email protected] and help out. Together we'll smooth the feathers again.