Short abstract from the book: The whooper swan is a new and very rare breeding bird in
Denmark, with only a single pair breeding in the country since
2002. However, about 40,000 birds winter in Denmark, and
of these 703 have been ringed. Ninety-three birds, ringed in
southern Zealand and in the northeastern part of Jutland from
November to March, have been recovered dead. In Denmark
the first whooper swans arrive in October, but counts and recoveries show that some still arrive in December. The winter population is mainly from Russia and Finland. Birds later recovered
in Russia were all ringed in eastern Denmark. Whooper swans
from different populations in Finland segregate differently in
Denmark (see next chapter). The spring migration begins in
March, and by April the mean position is in the Baltic Sea.
The fastest ringed bird was ringed in Denmark on 18 March
1952 and subsequently recovered 1,217 km away in Russia on
23 April 1952. The oldest whooper swan was recorded close to
the ringing site at an age of 26 years, 6 months.
Read more about the species in the chapter from The Danish Bird Migration Atlashere
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