Pam Taylor has been looking out for our winter visiting swans, the Bewick's and whooper.

A new year and a new start. Isn't that what we all aim for? It certainly means a new start for my annual bird list. I just hope I can keep it up-to-date better than last year! It also means we're now heading for the new dragonfly season. OK, it may still be some way off, but at least it will be later this year, not next year, which makes it seem much closer.

The turn of the year also gives added impetus to seeing all those winter visitors before they head back to their breeding grounds. Mute swans are resident year round, but the Bewick's and whooper swans, with their yellow-marked beaks, are true winter visitors. Bewick's join us from arctic Russia, while the whoopers that arrive in Britain come from Iceland.

The migratory swans were slow to appear this winter. Although I eventually saw several flocks flying overhead from the broad towards more distance fields, I struggled even then, to locate the usual mixed groups on the ground. Usually by Christmas their large white shapes are visible from the main road as they feed on local farmland, but not this year.

Whooper swans are almost as large as mute swans, but their more upright stance often makes them appear taller. Bewick's are the smallest of the three species, but have a similar upright posture to the whoopers. Often these two species can be found together, so relative size is a good indicator of species. If mute swans are also present, their curved necks and orange beaks can be used for identification.

Studies at Slimbridge dating back over fifty years have revealed that individual Bewick's can be identified by the unique pattern of yellow and black on their beaks. In this way the lives of nearly 10,000 swans have been recorded since that first day when Sir Peter Scott and his family observed a single swan on their lake.

Although all different, the yellow on a Bewick's beak is always rounded in shape, whereas that on a whooper's beak is wedge-shaped. When only one species is present and actual size is difficult to judge, this feature can be a handy guide to which type of bird you're viewing.