Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2001 16:41:16 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "Kurt R. Schwarz" Subject: Black Swans MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Mr. Cribb guessed correctly on the proper range for Black Swans. They breed both in Australia and New Zealand. They're an introduced species in New Zealand. They're vagrants in New Guinea. No mention of agressiveness! See Pizzey/Knight FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. There was a single Black Swan up here in Howard County back in April. One was present at Centennial Park at least 5-7 April 2000. ----- Original Message ----- From: "marty cribb" To: Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2001 6:10 PM Subject: [MDOSPREY] another escapee with potential for trouble Hello everyone, I took a few minutes this afternoon to have a quick look at the waterfowl in and around the west jetty and the creek coming into the Island from the bayside. I had the usual large #'s of CANADA GOOSE, 1,000+, BLACK DUCK , 79, GADWAL , 9, SURF SCOTER, 26, MUTE SWAN, 6, TUNDRA SWAN, 175, BUFFLEHEAD, 200+ BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE, 300+, AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER, 2 (this is a first for the year here on Smith Island), no other shorebirds, NORTHERN HARRIER, 3. Now for the bad news, besides the 6 MUSW I also had 2 BLACK SWAN. This is a 1st time sighting for me and one that Im not really happy to see nor am I surprised to see here on Smith Island. This species I understand has the potential of becoming more of a problem then MUSW. It is a highly aggressive species (even more so then the MUSW) and has similar feeding habits. Both birds were feeding the entire time I observed and were by them selves with no other bird getting within 50 yards. The occasional gull that ventured near was quickly chased away by both birds. Can anyone give me information that maybe helpful in learning more about this I believe an Australian or New Zealand native. Thank you and good birding, Marty Cribb, Smith Island, Md ======================== To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================== ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================