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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