This morning I observed two Tundra Swans just north of the loop drive around Shoveler Pond in Anahuac NWR. They were quite close to the loop road, out in the open and I even saw their black feet. One of the birds clearly had yellow to the base of its bill. The other one was a younger individual without yellow. Behind me was a photographer who I hope will post his pictures here on Texbirds. There are hundreds of snow geese also at the refuge, and at a distance one could get quite desperate and imagine some are swans. That is certainly what I'd be prone to. But seeing the actual swans is impossible to mistake for snow geese. The swans did not hang with the geese. Other good finds I saw were vermillion flycatchers near the small pond behind visitor center, bronzed cowbird in a flock of brown headed, up on telephone pole at gate entrance, two common goldeneyes in the bay, merlin with its breakfast on the same bay road. Krider's over head just north of the Anahuac refuge boundary. At the Skillern Tract I found birds I did not expect to see: Golden crowned kinglets, tree swallows, marsh wren, song sparrow. Those I expected and did see: common moorhen, common yellowthroat, swamp sparrow, Lincoln's, savannah, orange crowned warbler, yellow rumped, vermillion flycatcher, eastern phoebe. Of ducks: black bellied whistling duck, gadwall, green winged teal, canvasback, American widgeon, shoveler, ruddy duck. At the Lynchburg ferry was a pair, male and female, hooded mergansers. Lots of least sandpipers. Gulls at Monument Inn the usual but had an adult lesser black backed gull with them. Carolyn Dill Houston Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission from the List Owner