Reporting sightings
In groups of swans, individual birds are often noticeable by their white or coloured neck or leg rings. These always bear an alphanumeric code — a combination of numbers and letters — effectively the bird’s personal identification card.
For research purposes, it is essential that all sightings are reported! For simple ring markings, these reports provide the only evidence of where the birds have been throughout their lives. Even transmitters can sometimes fail and stop sending location data, so any additional information is always welcome (see below).
Seen a tagged swan?
Have you seen a swan with a transmitter? We would be very grateful to hear from you at info@zwergschwan.de — ideally with a photo if possible. Even without an image, the following details are extremely valuable for us:
- Date, time and location of the observation (coordinates if available)
- What type of habitat was the bird observed in? (e.g. maize field, grassland, waterbody, etc.)
- Number of Bewick’s Swans present and, if applicable, other swan species in the group
- Was the tagged Bewick’s Swan paired?
- Could juveniles be associated with the bird? If yes, how many?
- How well-nourished did the bird appear? To assess the abdomen profile (API), please refer to the guidance provided here. We appreciate your assessments — ideally with a supporting photo (if available, we can also evaluate the condition based on the image).
How do I report a sighting?
The ideal way for us is to receive a double report of your observation:
The DDA website is primarily intended for the general reporting of bird sightings; alternatively, the associated NaturaList app can also be used. In both cases, prior registration is required. Additional information about a ringed or tagged bird can be entered in the “Remarks” field.
Important: Always specify the body part, ring colour, and code (e.g. neck ring white 650X).
On the European Colour-Ring Birding website, sightings of colour-marked birds can be reported for numerous projects – including our Bewick’s Swan project (a German-language version is available).
In our short explanatory video, we show step by step how to do this:
NOTE: As of 10 December 2024, reporting sightings via geese.org is no longer possible. The database has been integrated into the cr-birding project. Login data and existing observations from geese.org have been transferred.