After over a three week absence and a trip to Paper Mill Flats, Trumpeter
Swan #962 has returned to Schoolhouse Pond in Upper Marlboro. The bird
must have arrived sometime during the morning. I didn't see it during my
morning walk, but noticed it when I returned from a meeting in the afternoon.
At first, I thought that it was a different swan as I did not see the yellow
wing tags (sometimes they get obscured by feathers). However, I used my
bins to verify that the number on the leg band read 962, confirming that it is
the same bird. Until today, the last time I had seen the swan at Schoolhouse
Pond was May 5th.
Fred Shaffer
Patuxent MOS
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