Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy

THERE is nothing so graceful in the natural world as a swan.

These large elegant birds are found throughout the world - the mute swan is the national bird of Denmark - but they are an easy family to study.

There are only six species in the world - three in the northern hemisphere and three in the southern.

The southern hemisphere species are the Australian black and the South American coscoroba and black-necked swans. The northern hemisphere species are the whooper (known in North America as the trumpeter) and the bewick (known in North America as the whistling swan) but some scientists now include them as separate species. This leaves us with the mute swan, which is the only one resident in Britain all year round.

The bill of the mute swan is orange and black with the legs and webbed feet being black. In Eastern Europe some mute swans have pink legs and feet and these are known as Polish swans. In Victorian times Polish swans were brought to the London markets during the Christmas period. Swans, although now protected by law were once a part of the seasonal celebrations and their succulent meat would serve a lot more than would a duck or a goose.

Whooper and bewick swans visit Lancashire in some numbers during the winter and migrate from the Arctic regions in large numbers. Mute swans, in contrast, only tend to gather in numbers during the winter but do not breed in colonies, with one glorious exception.

This to be found in the Swannery at Abbotsbury in Dorset.

This Swannery was established by monks during the 14th century and last summer I visited the birds and spoke to the swanherd who feeds the birds and looks after the well-being.

During the moult, the flight feathers are collected and made into quill pens. Male swans are called cobs, females are called pens from from which the name derives. Quill pens have to be kept sharp and this is where the word penknife comes from. At Abbotsbury you can also buy gift penknives with a swan design.

Where to see swans in Lancashire:

Mute swans are resident on many ponds, rivers and canals and from the New Year onwards that are starting to pair off, with the males becoming particularly aggressive.

Cygnets still with some brown plumage are chased off by their parents and have to fend for themselves. They would welcome being fed your scraps at this time, especially in cold weather.

Whooper swans may turn up almost anywhere in the winter, including Abbey Village, Pennington Flash, Rumworth, Dofcocker in the Bolton area. In East Lancashire likely sites are at Barrow, near Clitheroe, Foulridge, near Colne and occasionally at Rishton, Hurstwood and Longridge.

Bewick swans seem to prefer coastal areas, so why not enjoy a coastal birdwatch between January and the end of March?

If you want to be certain of seeing all three of the Lancashire swans, a visit to Martin Mere, the base of the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, is by far the best bet.

The best place to enjoy a swan is not on a plate but sailing wild and free on the waters of Lancashire.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.