Looks like a male-female pair to me. The presumed male on the left gives a suggestion of a slightly concave bill but that is probably a function of the foreshortening of the bill angled towards the camera. All the rest of the bill/head/etc. features look 100% Trumpeter. The skinny snake-like necks certainly look very Trumpeter- ish. Neither bird seems to precisely match the bill, head, and neck on the bird that was in Rutherford County last winter, though another 7 months of growth and the difference between freezing January versus 100F July might affect that.
Farther north, Trumpeter pairs have gotten in to the habit of taking up residence on fairly small ponds, leading to the "big ducks on small ponds" effects that have some questioning the wisdom of the eastern reintroduction. It'll be interesting to see if they become a nesting, resident species in TN in the coming years. Hard to imagine Trumpeter Swans being considered pests on golf courses and in subdivisions, but stranger things have happened.
Bill Pulliam Hohenwald TN
On Jul 7, 2012, at 1:10 PM, Bob Hatcher wrote:This is a follow-up to Chad Smith’s report of today of sighting two Trumpeter Swans on the mornings of July 6 and 7 in Williamson County, TN.His sighting is apparently on Cox’s Lake. This lake is slightly less than two miles east of the pond where the swans had been seen several times since about June 15-20 on Lampkins Bridge Road, located between the Arrington and Rudderville communities. Cox’s Lake was a 5-acre lake before I-840 occupied a southern tip of it. It is located on Cox Road, and visible from the west-bound I-840.The Lampkins Bridge Road pond is on my grandfather Cotton’s former farm. It is now owned by a cousin, who has advised me the swans were last at her Lampkins Bridge Road pond on the evening of July 4, 2012. She sent me the attached picture from the early hot afternoon of July 4, as the two swans stood in the shade of large trees next to the pond, and just to the south of her house. The pond is about 500 feet to the east of Lampkins Bridge Road, but not visible from the road. The house and pond area are well-secured with a coded locked gate and about 4 horizontal strands of electric fence around the surrounding fields.I had no luck finding the swans in the vicinity on morning of July 5, but did not visit Cox’s Lake at that time. However, a Lampkins Bridge Road resident advised me, after viewing my cousin’s picture, that the same two solid white birds, with solid black bills, were seen a few times last year (2011) ½ mile to the south in a vinyl-lined pond just south of the Harpeth River, and just west of Lampkins Bridge Road. He described them as having probably the longest wings of any birds he had seen (their wing span is about 80 inches). Before I could ask him about which month(s) and other details, he had to drive on due to road traffic and an appointment. Possibly these details will later be available.Bob Hatcher Brentwood, TN ************From: tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tn-bird- bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Chad SmithSent: Saturday, July 07, 2012 8:44 AM To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [TN-Bird] Trumpeter Swans' New LocationA pair of Trumpeter Swans, which I believe must be the same birds first mentioned by Chris Sloan, have been seen the past two mornings in another spot in Williamson County. The new location is a big pond beside 840 West at about Mile Marker 39, just before you cross the bridge over the Harpeth River. There is nothing about the birds (other than time of year) which would indicate they are not wild, though I don't claim to be one of the guys who would know. The pond is very easy to view, and the birds are very unafraid.Best, Chad Smith Murfreesboro, TN
