2/22/10 Lake Graham, Madison Co I only worked half the day today, so I was finally able to get over to Lake Graham to check on the Swan that Mark reported recently. To my relief I saw it swimming as soon as the Lake came into view. I spent about an hour and a half with the bird, at the end it was only probably 15-20 yards offshore from where I was. The dusky color overall, and big black bill made me think Trumpeter when I first started looking at the bird. Swans can be very tough ID's, and a combination of factors have to be taken into account. The feathering at the bill was closer to what Sibley shows for Tundra, so I can see how Ken was leaning that way. This feature in particular to me isn't especially reliable. A search of Trumpeter Swan photos will turn up birds with that nice even line that they are 'supposed' to have, but also many with a curve, ala Tundra. This bird also had the broad patch of skin between the eye and bill, so that the eye pretty much blends into the face, and doesn't stand out as on Tundra; a very good indicator. The major body axis, very well depicted by Jeff in his photos this winter, was great for Trumpeter with the tail riding very low above the water. The bill and head had that nice flat slope. The bill did have a small area of very dull-flesh color in the center, which I looked for but couldn't see, but which did show up in photos. The feathering at the forehead came to a sharp point, but some young Tundra's are slow to develop the rounded border of that species, so not sure how important that was in this case. I have placed a number of shots of this bird in my Winter 2009-2010 gallery. Light wasn't good today at all, but the bird was close enough most of the time that it didn't matter. I think the last shot in the series is probably the best, when it was closest just before I left. The first new image starts here: http://www.pbase.com/mctodd/image/122213504/original Good Birding!! Mike Todd McKenzie, TN birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx www.pbase.com/mctodd =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. ______________________________________________________________ TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA -------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Chris O'Bryan Clarksville, TN __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ MAP RESOURCES Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________