A big thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts, both on-list and off,
regarding the swan i.d. And thanks, Joel, for the informative link. I
learned a lot through the conversation. It seems more folks voted Tundra
than Trumpeter; I assure you I won't ask for a recount!
Good birding,
Rebecca
On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 7:10 AM Joel Geier <clearwater@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
Solitary juvenile swans are tricky. I agree with Matt Cahill's comment
that the neck shape (also shape of the back, and the crown of the head) are
suggestive of Tundra Swan rather than Trumpeter, and this bird is showing
more white and silvery gray than I'd expect for a juvenile Trumpeter at
this stage of the season.
The third photo in Rebecca Hartman's sequence shows that the eye is
clearly set back from a bare-skin area that rises at a steep angle from the
chin, further supporting the ID as Tundra Swan. The second photo also
clearly shows that the bill/forehead profile is concave (despite the
optical illusion created by pond ripples -- a common problem to beware of
when examining this feature in photos of birds on water).
I've never put much stock in the "pointiness" of the forehead feathering.
Number one, that's can be hard to see in typical field conditions. Number
two, those feathers can be messed up on actively feeding birds.
Thanks to Rebecca for sharing these interesting photos! Here's a good page
to keep bookmarked for juvenile swan ID:
https://www.trumpeterswansociety.org/swan-information/identification/juvenile-swan-identification.html
BTW, the flock of Trumpeter Swans that had been slowly gathering on a pond
near Airlie in s. Polk County reached a peak count of 6 (all adults) about
a week ago, but since the start of rainy weather they've gone AWOL, perhaps
using some recently-saturated field that's out of sight from the roads, or
up in the Maple Grove area which I haven't checked lately.
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
