Flying with swans
The first woman to paramotor from Russia to Britain sets off this autumn to follow Bewick’s swans on their annual migration. Sacha Dench, 41, head of media at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), is due to set off on the 4,500-mile expedition in mid September. The former British and Australian free-diving champion is doing the trip on just a parachute wing strapped to small propellor engine.
Over 10 weeks she will cross 11 countries, finishing in central London where she flies up the River Thames. Along the route she faces the same challenges as the swans. The weather is extreme, there are polar bears, pylons and tall buildings to avoid, and it is a struggle to find safe places to land, rest and refuel. Practise trips in Norway, Devon and Cornwall have helped prepare her for the expedition, which aims to highlight the Bewick’s plight – numbers are down to 18,000 from a peak of 29,000 in 1995.
“This expedition is very close to my heart,” said Dench. “It’s a chance to learn more about Bewick’s swans and why they’re declining. But just as important, it’s a chance to bring people from very different cultures together because the swans’ fate rests in our hands.”
Every year, 6,000 Bewick’s swans overwinter in the UK, mostly on the Ouse washes, with several hundred going to the WWT’s Slimbridge centre. Dench will be encouraging everyone she meets en route to help save the swan. The expedition will also enable new research to be gathered. An aerial survey of the swans’ breeding grounds is planned and wind turbine turbulence will be documented.
FACE, the European Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation, is “pleased to support this ground-breaking awareness-raising campaign,” said Dr David Scallan, conservation manager.
“European hunters are major players in wetland conservation and understand that the threats facing the Bewick’s swan affect other waterbird species,” he said. “Along the Bewick’s swan flyway, hunters have been playing a positive role in reporting cases of illegal killing, converting to non-lead shot over wetlands as well as managing disturbance at key sites.”
The expedition is being filmed, with Dench broadcasting live on the way. More details on www.wwt.org.uk/flightoftheswans