The Lincoln Swan project

A Happy New Year from the Lincoln Swan Project! A huge thank you to all our fantastic data collectors who submitted sightings to us in 2025. It’s been another great year for the project, with our wonderful data collectors submitting an astounding 918 sightings of individually ringed birds (see map), giving us fascinating insights into their movements, behaviour, and survival. We also published our first project research paper, highlighting the success and utility of the App for reporting sightings of colour ringed swans (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-80171-1)

Sadly, we also had the population’s first recorded outbreak of Avian Influenza (AI) in November, confirmed by Defra as the H5N1 subtype that is known to cause mortality in populations of Mute Swans and other wild birds. The Brayford in particular has been badly hit, with L021 and L046 – the resident pair since we started the Lincoln Swan project in 2017 – both succumbing to the disease, along with all but one of their cygnets from this year. We know from our research that the male (L046) hadn’t previously been exposed to AI, because he didn’t have antibodies in his blood, so it is likely this made him more susceptible. We are continuing to research exposure and susceptibility within the population to try and understand whether some pairs may be more at risk than others, and how to prevent the spread of this disease in the future.

It’s really important that we continue to monitor this situation closely, because the increased movement of swans that we’re now seeing in and around the Brayford means that they may be spreading the disease further. We can only do this with your help, so please carry on submitting your sightings of colour ring numbers on swans in and around Lincoln. You can sign up to the App if you haven’t already done so (https://forms.office.com/e/R48KghwsKF) which also signs you up for our project newsletter, or submit sightings via our e-mail address – [email protected]. These are the best ways to ensure your sightings reach the project team.

We also have a new website: https://www.keele.ac.uk/lincoln-swan-project/, and post updates on Instagram (lincolnswans) and Bluesky (.bsky.social)

Bird flu (avian influenza): how to spot and report it in poultry or other captive birds The signs of bird flu and how to report it in poultry and other captive birds.

A Happy New Year from The Lincoln Swan project! A huge thank you to all our data collectors during 2022 - thanks to you, we have received 909 sightings of 105 individual birds. A map of our sightings is below!

If you see swans in and around Lincoln and want to sign up as a data collector, you can do so here: lncn.ac/swanproject

Our latest newsletter is now out! Read it here: https://lincolnswans.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/news/

Our first newsletter is out! Read about updates on the swans, and how data from Lincoln Swan Project Data Collectors is helping to understand the lives of these birds. We hope you enjoy reading it 😊 https://lincolnswans.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/news/

Huge thanks to all our data collectors for their hard work and contributions to the The Lincoln Swan project project during 2021. We had an amazing 2,046 sightings reported, with 2,891 colour-ringed bird sightings of 148 individuals. We have exciting plans for the project for 2022 and are hugely grateful to all who have taken the time to check swan legs and report sightings. We're getting fascinating insights into where birds go, and how breeding birds spend their time and use their territories. Please continue to submit your sightings through the App! 😊 And if you haven't yet, take a look at our website for more information about the project and how you can help: https://lincolnswans.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/home-page/

Latest update from the Lincoln Swan project: https://news.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/2021/12/16/lincolns-iconic-swans-an-update/

Find out more about the Lincoln Swan Project - listen back to today's BBC Radio Lincolnshire interview: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0b3vp2g (from ~15:23ish)

BBC Radio Lincolnshire - Melvyn Prior, Sue Taylor sits in (07/12/2021) Sue Taylor sits in. Lincolnshire guests, the news of the day and the music you love.

Hello Facebook! We are a colour ringed population of swans in Lincoln, UK. Lots of us have a yellow numbered ring on one leg, and a British Trust for Ornithology metal ring on the other leg. Can you help monitor us? Find out more here: lncn.ac/swanproject
or visit our website for more information: https://lincolnswans.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/home-page/