Several dead swans found at Chiswick Mall

Swans at Strand on the Green

Residents along the river concerned they might be cases of bird flu

At least three swans have been found dead at Chiswick Mall in recent days. There is a rumour that they died from bird flu.

The Swan Sanctuary at Shepperton has told The Chiswick Calendar that they have not had any confirmed cases of bird flu on the Thames further downstream than Oxford and Newbury.

“The only way in which you would know if this is bird flu is if the birds had been tested by DEFRA”, a spokeswoman told us.

The Chiswick Calendar has contacted DEFRA to see if the carcasses have been tested, and we have not yet had a response.

One swan dead and the other dying on the lawn; photograph Mandy Lambart

Three dead swans on our lawn

Mandy Lambart told The Chiswick Calendar she looked out of the window on Wednesday morning, (21 January) about 7.45am to see a fox eating a dead swan on the lawn.

“I knocked on the window and it stopped and ran off”.

She and her husband Simon Stevens assumed the fox had killed it, but the next day she saw another swan on their lawn, which faces the river at Chiswick Mall.

“It didn’t move. I took it out some porridge oats but it was barely moving”.

The second swan died and they then saw a third one, to the side of the lawn, which had been decapitated by a fox.

They rang the RSPCA, who told them they only dealt with live animals. They spoke to the Swan Sanctuary at Shepperton and Swan Support, both of whom “showed a polite interest”, said Mandy, but neither came out. Mandy then looked on Hounslow council’s website and found the correct form to report dead animals and have them taken away.

“I was worried about the children who walk along the strand picking up things”, she told me.

“The council were the only people who did anything”. Their workman took away the two carcasses from the lawn, but not the third, which by the time the workmen came had floated onto the shoreline on the tide, where as we spoke on Friday afternoon it was still floating.

“We can’t be certain it’s bird flu”, Simon told me, “It’s not confirmed, but it’s likely to be something like that. Someone suggested they might have been poisoned, but I think that’s unlikely”.

“It’s terribly sad”, said Mandy. “They are such beautiful creatures, it’s unbelieveably sad”.

Both swans died; Mandy Lambart

Residents groups taking precautions

The Old Chiswick Protection Society has cancelled a conservation event it was planning this weekend on Chiswick Eyot because of it, and the Grove Park residents group has sent out an email to its members on the advice of local councillor Gabriella Giles saying:

“It is very important, if you see a dead or sick bird anywhere, not to touch it. Please make sure that any children you are responsible for understand this too”.

It is also important that dog owners do not let their pets near dead birds, feathers or faeces in case they are infected.

A spokesperson for the RSPCA told The Chiswick Calendar:

“Distressingly, avian flu outbreaks continue to be widespread, and this highly infectious disease is untreatable.

“If bird flu is suspected, the RSPCA has online advice and the matter should be reported to Defra.

“When there are concerns about the welfare of a live animal – including sick or injured wild birds – further information can be found on the RSPCA’s website

The numbers to report cases of suspectred bird flu cases if you come across three or more dead gulls or wild waterfowl (swans, geese and ducks).

DEFRA 03459 335577
Swan support 01628 876336 / 07968 868172
RSPCA 0300 123 8960

Read more stories on The Chiswick Calendar