[va-bird] what kind of swans did I see?

  • From: Steve Johnson <stevejohnson2@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: VA Birds <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 15:11:28 -0500


Hi everyone,

This morning (beautiful warm Saturday), my son and I saw a flock of roughly 15-20 swans right over our house in Oakton (near Fairfax). They were spread in a very shallow "V", not the more pointed arrow typical of geese, and had very long necks. In the binocs they were completely white, although in the short time I watched, I might have missed some small black areas. The lighting was good - I'm sure about the overall white color.

They were calling, which was how we first noticed them, and the sound was very different from geese - higher pitched and less nasal. They continued calling as they passed.

My book lists TUNDRA SWANs as uncommon and local in winter in this area; and MUTE SWANs as introduced and living wild on the East Coast.

Any guesses as to what we saw? Should I assume that the vocalizations pretty much rule out MUTE SWANs?

Thanks!!

- Steve Johnson
Fairfax, VA

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