We still have a few Whooper Swans feeding on the rape field at Baston Fen. The most I have counted is 14 but there is a different number every day. The number is constant through the day so all I can say is that there is more going on in the night than we realise. A lot bird migration does take place at night and Whooper Swans have already started their migration back North. They will not be going straight back to their breeding grounds but will be going back bit by bit so they arrive on their breeding grounds as soon as there is somewhere thawed out to nest, they need to be laying eggs as soon as it is possible. The bigger the bird the more days it takes the young before they are able to fly. The summer is very short in the arctic, in fact only just long enough for the Whooper Swans to breed before winter arrives.