More Cecil Travels/ Tundra Swan ?

Harry Fisher (fish8553@dpnet.net)
Thu, 28 Jan 1999 13:31:17 -0500


HI All:
I did some more travelling in Cecil today, as follows.
At Hacks Point, I flushed up a Swamp Sparrow.
On Gunthers Pond and surrounding fields near Cecilton:
Horned Larks- 12
Killdeer- 8
Northern Pintail- 3
Green-wing Teal- 8
Ring-neck Duck-6
Am Wigeon- 8
Tundra Swan: 120
Try as I might, could turn none to these into Trumpeter.All were of the
same size, posture and slightly concave bill.  About 25% of these were
immature, with a great deal of variability in the amount of pink on the
bills.I`m assuming this is normal? 2 of the youngsters had all pink
bills except for a dark base and tip.  Several others had lines of pink
between upper/lower mandibles only.  None of the young birds had the
facial skin developed into points at the eye, as the adults did. The
facial skin in the adults between the adult clearly made a straight line
across the forehead.  ( I only wish I`d had this good an opportunity for
study of Trumpeter at the dam  ).
At Bethel WMA, another 23 Tundras flew over, 4 feeding on the
impoundment with 2 mute swans.  I was pleased to kick up a Marsh Wren
with some pishing.  Also on the impoundment were
250+ Coot
10 Ring-neck Duck
6 Northern Pintail
Courthouse Point has water once again, and was full of spooky Canadian
geese that departed noisily upon my approach.  Amazingly enough some
distant waterfowl remained, 75 Northern Pintail and 20 Greenwing Teal.
Am. Tree Sparrows were also abundant, a flock of 15 foraging at the side
of the road.
Leslie Fisher
Cecil Co