244 swan deaths in 6yrs

[kent marshman]

hi everyone, 6 yrs ago nearly 200 swans died after flying into powerlines near to wear i live i helped to carry the died swans off the fields because they were acting like decoys causing more swans to fly into the line, about 2 miles west is a national nature reserve which i drove past every day on may way to work, the reserve was exstended a number of years ago and lagoons were dug out for waterfowl not far from a powerline, theres allways been a problem with swan strikes on this section of line but after the reserve was exstended the number of strikes increased, so i desided to try and do something about it, for four years i contacted all the relivent bodies concerned the only help i got was from the company who owned the line, they place more diverters on the line with limited results, when i spoke to the warden 2 yrs ago i was shocked when he told me 38 swans had died that year so i told everyone concerned that if nothing was done i would have to go to the press, i was told off the record that the line would be place underground so i took their word and ive left it in their hands, 2 yrs on swans are still being killed, ive gone to the press but i havnt had much interest, ive been told the line will be place underground soon, i think people should be awear of what little the people who should have been sorting this out have done, not sure if i can name these bodies on here.

[naturelover]

hiya welcome,you bring very sad news to the forum,that is bad and they should be named if you want my opinion,where is there hearts i dont recon they have one to allow this to go on for six years and not do anything about it,look at the fuss that was made when they found the swans that were shot and buried,whats the difference,dead swans are dead swans dosnt matter how they died as long as its sorted out so that it dosnt happen again,sorry i am going on a bit but people like that make me sick,hope you enjoy the site.

[m1.carson]

Hi,

We get a few problems with swans flying "over" the bridges in Caversham, the council put up some flags along the cable, seems to have cured much of the problem.

Surely a few danglers along the cable would be a cheap good start, could use duff CD's as they work as bird scarers.

Max.

[kent marshman]

hiya, edf have placed diverters every few yards along the line, numbers have gone down but swans are still being killed, the reserve is owned by natural england (formerly english nature) they just say its not their prob, i contacted The RSPB who said they couldnt do anything , its a sad day when the people you think are there to sort out probs like this dont seem to care,

[naturelover]

hi kent this country dosnt get any better dose it,i always thought the swan was like a royal and god forbid if anyone who hurt them,dose that not hold anymore,the royals are the only people that can kill and eat a swan,so why has every thing changed these days ?

[kent marshman]

hi naturelover, i got an email from THE RSPB to day all theyve told me is go to the press, makes you wonder what their there for if its not to protect birds, think ill have to give up on this.

[bugsy]

Easy for me to say as I don't have any helpful suggestions to give right now, but don't give up Kent.

[kent marshman]

thanks bugsy,

[wild flower]

Hello Kent Marshman

What a terrible story. It is sad that you seem to be the only one that cares . You need an outcry from people in the local area about what is happening to the swans. I would not be afraid of pulling at heart strings by sending photos to the papers.

I suggest you tell the papers that this carnage is continuing in the full knowledge of the organisations that should be protecting these animals (by the way have you tried the RSPCA?). Natural England do have the power to initiate this sort of discussion and encourage the energy company to look at how they can prevent these atrocious strikes.

A petition may be another idea.

[kent marshman]

hi wild flower, ive emailed the localand national press and local radio, no one seems to want to run the story ive been emailed by EDF saying the line will be placed underground in the next few weeks, EDF have been pretty good but its still taken 6yrs, i think the public should be aware of what goes on and i think N/E and RSPB should be acountable, people are very quick to condem shooting people like myself but we care passionatley about conservation and wildlife, the bodies concerned have let the swans down badly. p.s this is a great site with nice people

[naturelover]

Hi kent this is very sad news that no one wants to know,i just do not understand the rspb or rspca what are they there for then if not to help with peoples knowledge on what happens,i have just joined the rspb and their written work really praises them up.

[kent marshman]

hiya i was realy surprised when they wouldnt help i think its because its a natural england reserve, i wont be joining the RSPB that for sure,

[Rhino]

Maybe someone needs to muddy the water a little into making the revelent Authorities take the action that should be taken, i have alway's thought that swans belonged to the queen so they are sacred, maybe getting on to the local newspapers is the answer?

[Xanadu2]

It shocks me that the relevant bodies like the RSPB won't act. There must be something, if I put my thinking cap on...

Can you put the information on a website? (there are free ones if you are with the right ISP.) If you can get some good links, that could attract some attention.

Anyway, good on you for trying to do something!!!! We need folks like you!

[Rats]

This is so awful! Those poor swans and nobody seems to be able to do anything about it and I am a member of the RSPB too. They do a good job generally though, maybe their hands are tied on this.

Let me know if there's anything at all I can do!

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Rats

This is so awful! Those poor swans and nobody seems to be able to do anything about it and I am a member of the RSPB too. They do a good job generally though, maybe their hands are tied on this.

Let me know if there's anything at all I can do!

*boink* thats the sound of a nail being hit on the head - as far as the rspb go its not because they dont care but because they cant do anything - they dont own the land , and the powerlines are there legally so the investigations dept would have its hand tied too (as will the RSPCA)

Natural England on the other hand could force the energy company to act as they are the landowner and will have granted "way leave" for the cables , and part of a normal way leave agreement is to limit "nuisance" caused to the landowner

I would think that raining dead swans could reasonably be considered nusiance especially as the land owner is a nature reserve.

However one of the problems with this is that NE are having their budget squeezed by central govt and as they will being paid a wayleave fee they probably dont want to rock the boat - the only way to force them to act would be to embarass them or the energy company into action by bad press.

if i were you i'd write to your MP, your local councillor, and any other influential person (celebrities etc) locally - copy these letters to your local NE office and to their cheif exec. Next time dead swans are found photograph them and send the photos with a short press release to as many local papers as you can think of, and contact local radio and regional TV. Also contact the swan rescue centres arround the uk (Dot beeson for example) and see if you can get them on side as they may have more clout or national press contacts. Finally try and recruit a group of concerned locals (including sweet little old ladies, pretty girls, and small golden haired children if possible - these type of photogenic participants will help increase media coverage - " Mrs miggins 96, her supermodel daughter and her small golden haired granchild tommy used to love watching the swans but now due to inaction by NE they are being needlessly killed, little tommy said , it makes me really sad..." that kind of thing )

if you can keep the press furore going long enough sooner or later it will become more expedient for the power company or NE to act rather than ignore the problem

hope this helps

[kent marshman]

hiya ive tried nearly everything youve suggested they going to place the line underground in the next few weeks but that still dosent change the fact that its taken 6yrs and if it wasnt for me keep phoning all concern how long would it have been before something was done , the rspb are very quick to act when its a bird of prey but when its just a few swans they dont really care, thanks for your interest

[almostnormal]

Originally Posted by Xanadu2

It shocks me that the relevant bodies like the RSPB won't act. There must be something, if I put my thinking cap on...

Can you put the information on a website? (there are free ones if you are with the right ISP.) If you can get some good links, that could attract some attention.

Anyway, good on you for trying to do something!!!! We need folks like you!

First of all, although the number of swans being killed on this site is a bit worrying, the RSPB is not a relevant body as neither the land or the powerlines are under their control. The reserve is under Natural Englands control and the powerlines are the responsibility of the power company. As the power company are already placing diverters on the lines there's very little else they can do. Replacing the overground cables with underground ones will be the logical step, however this is extremely expensive and would require serious diruption. Secondly, to defend the RSPB, there is only a very small investigations team, and although the swans are a sad case, there are many more serious, and actual, wildlife crimes that need to be investigted, particularly with birds of prey, for example hen harriers, or indeed golden eagles, and rare waders. The RSPB is a charity, with limited resources at its disposal, is doing the best it can, and should not be ragged on by people who do not understand its function properly. The RSPB is about conservation of biodiversity and due to the aforementioned funding restrictions cannot protect every species in every square kilometer of the UK. Although it is good to raise this kind of problem, the RSPB cannot be held responsible for every bird that dies or is injured every year. In this case going to the press will achieve very little, as all that will happen is a statement will be released saying that the power company is already doing more than most would, and Natural England do not have enough money to pay for the cable to be moved, because the budget has been squeezed too much. It would therefore be a wise move to check all the information before going to the press, as the relevant bodies are probably already taking all the measures currently available to them.

[almostnormal]

Originally Posted by kent marshman

hiya ive tried nearly everything youve suggested they going to place the line underground in the next few weeks but that still dosent change the fact that its taken 6yrs and if it wasnt for me keep phoning all concern how long would it have been before something was done , the rspb are very quick to act when its a bird of prey but when its just a few swans they dont really care, thanks for your interest

misinformation like this makes me really angry the rspb is a CHARITY. it has to divert its resources into birds of conservation concern. although the deaths of 244 swans is very bad, the fact is that mute swans are not a rare species. and because its not on an RSPB reserve there is NOTHING they could do. of course it distresses the RSPB when something like this occurs, however it does not have the resources to fix every problem to do with birds in the uk, especially if people refuse to join, because they are misinformed about the work they do.

[kent marshman]

NE made the problem worse by extending the reserve but didnt take into consideration the power line when planning the extention, EDF have been the only bodie who have done their best to sort this problem out other than fobbing me off by telling me they were going to place the line under ground and not doing anything till i contacted them 2yrs later, NE chairs the meetings concerning power lines on their land like at cobham and st margrets at cliff, surely swan deaths are more important than views over land of outstanding natural beauty i contacted the rspb for advice they told me to contact the bodies concerned which i had already done if that didnt work go to the press i wasnt asking them to spend loads of money just make a few phone calls which may have helped after all they are the royal society protection birds, im very sorry if ive offended you i just thought people should be aware and maybe in the future it wont take so long to sort these problems out

[annmaria]

Well Kent Marshman seems this has got the almostnormal a bit hot under the collar! My family are RSPB members and although I appreciate what 'almost' is saying I do think the RSPB damages its image and probably puts lots of people joining the RSPB by being so negative about injured birds which are not on the endangered list . Often on the shore( Lytham St Annes ) their are injured birds, there is a RSPB shop right on the front which actually has a sign saying DO NOT BRING INJURED BIRDS HERE.......... crazy !
Annmaria

[kent marshman]

hi annmaria didnt mean to upset anyone but i feel very strong about this, im a part time gamekeeper -stalker my mates think im mad to have spent so much time and phone calls on this but if ive helped it has been worth it , thanks for your reply
george

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by annmaria

Well Kent Marshman seems this has got the almostnormal a bit hot under the collar! My family are RSPB members and although I appreciate what 'almost' is saying I do think the RSPB damages its image and probably puts lots of people joining the RSPB by being so negative about injured birds which are not on the endangered list . Often on the shore( Lytham St Annes ) their are injured birds, there is a RSPB shop right on the front which actually has a sign saying DO NOT BRING INJURED BIRDS HERE.......... crazy !
Annmaria

but that's because its the RSPCA that focuses on rescuing individual animals the RSPB focusses on recusing and protecting whole species and habitats - Its better surely to have two organisatiosn focussing properly on the seperate issues and doing them well - or at least to the best of their ability, than both organisations spreading themselves thinly across the whole thing. Even if you tried to take an injured avocet to the RSPB they would point you in the direction of the RSPCA or even better a local wildlife rescue facility.

I can see if there's a situation as you describe where njured birds are sadly a reggular occurance, it would be more helpful if they had details of good local charities that do take injured wildlife and maybe a supply of carry boxes on sale rather than such an unhelpful notice though...

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by almostnormal

misinformation like this makes me really angry the rspb is a CHARITY. it has to divert its resources into birds of conservation concern. although the deaths of 244 swans is very bad, the fact is that mute swans are not a rare species. and because its not on an RSPB reserve there is NOTHING they could do. of course it distresses the RSPB when something like this occurs, however it does not have the resources to fix every problem to do with birds in the uk, especially if people refuse to join, because they are misinformed about the work they do.

but this is the perception he has been left with on dealing with the RSPB you can't beat him for how he is left feeling! Perhaps they didn't explain clearly or sympathetically enough why they couldn't help which might have made all the difference.

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by kent marshman

hi annmaria didnt mean to upset anyone but i feel very strong about this, im a part time gamekeeper -stalker my mates think im mad to have spent so much time and phone calls on this but if ive helped it has been worth it , thanks for your reply
george

Well Sir Peter scott was a wildfowler first - legend has it it was only after watching a winged but alive pink foot starve to death on an inacessible island that made him start thinking about how too make things better for the birds.

I do think also that NE are your best route....... Are the all mutes swans?

can you calculate yet a mortality rate per year after the flags were added?