Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 10:30:40 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "Antony J. Heatwole" Organization: Hughes Network Systems Subject: Need Help with Swan ID MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I'm spending this week on vacation on Chincoteague. For two days running I've found a lone swan at a rather nice pond on Chincoteague near the elementary school (Hallie Wheatley Smith road). I've observed it from a distance of about 50 yards. The swan is all white with a heavy all-black bill, black legs, and black feet. There is a trace of orange on the lower edge of the upper bill. There is no trace of yellow in the lores. I couldn't see either a neck or leg band. I've observed the bird on the shore preening in the evenings. It wasn't there during the day when I checked - just the evening. The size was difficult to judge. It was much larger than the surrounding Canada Geese, but seemingly smaller then a Trumpeter. It seems like I can rule out everything. It's not a Mute Swan. What would a Tundra Swan or Trumpeter be doing here in the summer? And, I would think that a Trumpeter would be a pretty long shot in any case. Any ideas? Tony Heatwole P.S. This pond was an unexpected find for Chincoteague (as opposed to Assateague). There were also some nice goodies there like Glossy Ibis and Wood Duck. ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================