FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Trumpeter Swan Pr.Wm.Co. 1/11

[Thecattertons@xxxxxxx]

Greetings,

An immature Trumpeter Swan was observed on and off from noon until about 3 
p.m. today in a field with about 400 Canada Geese in Nokesville (Prince 
William County). The field is located along Parkgate Drive (Rt.653) and is 
about 1/2 mile east of the intersection of Parkgate and Brookfield Rd. (Rt. 
654). The field is on the north side of Parkgate. In the last month or so, 
I've seen this Canada Goose flock closer to Brookfield Rd intersection.

When I first arrived just after noon, I spotted a swan amongst the Canadas 
but the bird had it's head tucked in for a long time. I just assumed it was a 
Tundra, but I really wanted to know for sure, so I waited.  Shortly after I 
arrived, Jon Little showed up while looking for the Brewer's Blackbirds. We 
still didn't get a good look at the bird, so Jon pushed on for the brewer's 
hunt. He found Bev Leeuwenburg along Brookfield Rd., also looking for 
brewer's. They came back to the mystery swan and we waited a good long while 
before the bird decided to wake up. Finally! The first thing I noticed about 
the bird as he faced us head-on, was the definite V shape of the forehead 
feather pattern vs. the more rounded border on the Tundra. The bill was large 
with a straight culmen and there was a straighter edge at the gape, as 
opposed to the Tundra's curve. There was a wide area of black at the base and 
the tip of the bill with an area of pink in the middle. The color around the 
head and neck was a sooty gray with a body color of a more muted gray or 
dirty white. The leg color had us stumped though...pale gray with a pink hue. 
No bands were seen on this bird. We met up with Ken Bass and he said he'll 
try to photograph the bird tomorrow. As I was leaving I saw Kurt Gaskill and 
Rich Rieger along Brookfield and told them about the Trumpeter Swan. 
Fortunately, they got to see the bird so perhaps they'll throw in their 2 
cents.

I plan to go back out tomorrow to study this bird some more!

Laura Catterton
Manassas, Virginia


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