A 23-year-old Bewick’s swan has astounded WWT staff by arriving back at Martin Mere after it was first ringed at the centre in 1991.

Given the fact that the Bewick's swan migration journey from Siberia to winter in the UK is approximately 2,200 miles, this bird will have travelled at least 100,000 miles so far in its unusally long life.

Martin Mere is commonly known for the numbers of Whooper swans that migrate from Iceland to winter at the mere, and in the 80s, Martin Mere also welcomed thousands of wintering Bewick swans from Siberia.

But as temperatures have increased the swans don’t need to make such a long journey and they are now tending to spend the winter in Holland or the east coast of England.

As a result Martin Mere has only had seven Bewick swans arrive at the Centre this winter, the lowest recorded number since it was established in 1975 illustrating how global warming is affecting migration patterns of birds.

Centre Manager, Andy Wooldridge, said: “The Bewick’s swan arrived back at Martin Mere on January 6 and after reading the metal ring number we were amazed to discover that the bird was ringed at Martin Mere as an adult in 1991 when we assumed he was at least four years old - making him an astonishing 23 years old. "Throughout his life he has been logged in the Netherlands and in Denmark, but was last seen in the local area on January 24, 2006, at Bradshaws Lane at Pilling by Charlie Ligget, a former warden at Martin Mere. “ He added: "We know that he is a male swan because the ring was placed on his right leg, the identification tool for knowing the sex of a swan."

Bewick swans are much smaller than Whooper swans and they can be identified by just having a small yellow dot on their bill in comparison to the Whooper swans who have the majority of the bill covered in a yellow triangle.

Visitors to the Centre can now come and spot the Bewick swans in the daily swan feeds and there are two final opportunities on Saturday, February 7,and Saturday, March 14, to see the birds as they leave the roost at our Dawn Flight events.

The event costs £14 and includes a full English breakfast. Call 01704 891220 for further information.

WWT Martin Mere is open every day from 9.30am to 5.00pm and parking is free of charge. Situated off the A59, it is signposted from the M61, M58 and M6. The Centre is also accessible via the Southport to Manchester and the Liverpool to Preston line by train from Burscough Rail Stations. Visit the web site http://www.wwt.org.uk/visit/martinmere/ to find out what’s on all year round at Martin Mere and the other eight centres.