Bewick Swans over a pearly Sea

Bewick's swans were one of Peter Scott's favourite birds. This is probably because, more than any other birds, he came to know them as individuals. When wild Bewick's swans first came to the lake in front of his house, he realised that the pattern of black and yellow on the bill was different in each individual, and he began to draw them and to recognise them day after day. He gave them names and found that the same birds returned year after year to Swan Lake.
Since then the life histories of thousands of Bewick's Swans have been studied by scientists at the Wilfowl and Wetlands Trust and much has been learnt of the swans' habits. Each year, the swans leave Britain on the long migration to their breeding grounds in arctic Russia. This painting represents their passage across a calm North Sea.