[obol] Belated Sighting/Query re Swan
- From: Matthew G Hunter <matthewghunter@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 16:05:12 -0700
Hi Folks,
A couple weeks ago, May 5, we had a local field trip along the South Umpqua
River in which we saw a swan flying with a couple Canada Geese. The swan
was larger, longer-necked (i.e., not a barnyard goose), and had noticeable
gray on the head, neck, back, and upperwing coverts, as an immature should
have. My question is, could a Tundra Swan have that much noticeable gray
this late, or could the amount of gray reliably identify the bird as a
Trumpeter Swan? We never saw the bird on the ground and did not hear it
call, so the only indication of species we have is the amount of
immature/gray plumage. Sibley says Tundras should all be in 1st summer
(whitish) plumage by April at the latest. Anyone have contradicting
observations?
Matt Hunter
Melrose, OR
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