Thanks, Alan. Yes, the eye. I forgot to mention that. I too thought it
was too far from the bill for a Trumpeter, but I didn't know to think about
the worn condition. I wasn't sure if that was part of the bill structure I
was looking at. I'm certainly glad to know there are "swan people"!
On Tue, Nov 17, 2020 at 11:44 AM Alan Contreras <acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
This is a perfectly fine use of OBOL for an i.d. question. Why? Because
you have done your homework. You looked in a guide to try to figure it out.
And it wasn’t easy.
What is the swan? Ugh. Some birders from further north than me, or Gary
Ivey, would have more experience with young swans. The bill looks very much
the color of a young Tundra because a trumpeter should be black at the
base. However, this bird is gray at the base and a Tundra should be pink
all the way back. The pointed feather margin at the base of the bill is
good for Trumpeter. To me the eye looks like it is floating in the face,
not part of the coloration of the bill. Better for Tundra. But the face in
front of the eye also looks slightly worn, so maybe a less useful mark.
I await the verdict from swan people.
Alan Curmudgeon
acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx
Eugene, Oregon
www.alanlcontreras.com
On Nov 17, 2020, at 11:23 AM, Rebecca Hartman <rhartman@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Good morning Obolers,
I have two questions. One pertains to a bird ID; the other to the
accepted etiquette or conventions on OBOL concerning ID requests.
Someone made a reference awhile back to the 'dreaded ID question' and I'm
looking for some guidance on what subscribers see as ok or not ok in this
regard. I try really hard to figure out IDs on my own, but I often need
help. The empid ID thread was very useful and educational for me, but my
skill level is nowhere near that rarified strata. Me? I'm poring over
Sibley and my photos trying to figure out if a juvenile swan is a Tundra or
a Trumpeter.
So, is it generally ok to ask for simple id help or is it an unspoken
breach of list etiquette? If the latter, I apologize for my next question!
Driving home to La Grande yesterday, after a terrific birding trip in the
Olympic Peninsula with Stefan Schlick and a lovely flock of birders, I
stopped at Deschutes River SP, where I found a solitary juvenile swan. I
am stumped. To me, it looks more like a TRUMPETER, based on the pointed
border at the top of the bill, and what may be a straighter edge along the
side of the bill? No yellow on bill, but that might not matter on a
juvenile bird? A Tundra would be more likely, but I'm uncertain and would
like to know what else I should be looking at. I appreciate any help!
Here <https://photos.app.goo.gl/YezX9LQ8fyzuTDgn7> is the link to 3
photos in Google Photos in case the uploads don't work.
Cheers,
Rebecca
--
Dr. Rebecca Hartman
Associate Professor of History
History Department
Eastern Oregon University
http://eou.edu/history
541-962-3599
*The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to
grow sharper.”*― Eden Phillpotts
<swan front view possibly pointed bill border.JPG><swan side view.JPG>
