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13,756 Whooper Swans and 372 Bewick’s Swans Counted Across the Fens

Group of whooper swans
Conservation · Population & status

A coordinated swan count across the English Fens on 20 January 2026 recorded 13,756 whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus) and 372 Bewick’s swans (Cygnus columbianus bewickii) during the wider daytime survey. WWT Welney reported the results on 28 January as part of the 2026 International Swan Census.

The whooper-swan total consisted of 11,183 birds around the Ouse Washes and surrounding landscape and 2,573 around the neighbouring Nene Washes. The same coordinated work also included a separate dawn roost count at the Ouse Washes, where observers recorded 7,922 whooper swans and 265 Bewick’s swans.

Roost and daytime counts measured different snapshots

The dawn and daytime figures should not be added together. The dawn count measured birds using the Ouse Washes roost, whereas the broader daytime survey covered feeding areas across the Fens, including arable land. Many of the same swans move between roosting water and farmland during the day, so the two counts describe different parts of the same wintering system rather than separate populations.

The January survey formed part of the six-yearly International Swan Census, coordinated alongside the International Waterbird Count. The 2026 census covers both whooper and Bewick’s swans across several flyway populations. In addition to counting birds, observers record the numbers of adults and young and the habitats used, allowing the international census to assess breeding success, winter distribution and changes in habitat use.

A major winter concentration in the Fens

WWT said the 2026 whooper-swan total in the Fens was slightly below the corresponding 2025 figure, but described the count as encouraging after highly pathogenic avian influenza affected whooper swans in the region during autumn 2025. The organisation also noted the continuing long-term decline of Bewick’s swans.

The 13,756 whooper swans do not represent the full Iceland–UK/Ireland population, and the 372 Bewick’s swans likewise represent only the birds counted in this part of the international census. The figures instead show how large a winter concentration the Ouse and Nene Washes landscape supports and why coordinated counts must include both wetland roosts and surrounding farmland.

Sources and image credit

  1. Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. (2026, January 28). January Swan Count - 20/01/26. WWT Welney.Primary WWT report. The coordinated count recorded 11,183 whooper swans around the Ouse Washes and 2,573 around the Nene Washes, for a combined 13,756; the dawn Ouse roost count was 7,922.
  2. Koffijberg, K. (2026, January 5). International Swan Census: January 2026! Swan Specialist Group.Official census announcement describing coverage, age assessments and habitat-use recording for the six-yearly International Swan Census.

Image: Andreas Trepte — group of whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus), photographed 14 February 2009; representative flock image, not birds from the January 2026 Ouse and Nene Washes census. Source: Wikimedia Commons. · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Source

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