This morning there were about 25 Tundra Swans and 4 larger swans on the 
Potomac at milepost 21. (A little way downstream from Blockhouse Point and 1 mile 
downstream from Violettes Lock.)
 
The larger swans were adults and kept together as a group. They had the 
features I associate with Trumpeters: the larger heads, longer bills, v-shaped 
rather than u-shaped feather edge at the top of the bills, and feathered edge at 
the rear of the bill not so vertical, much more slanted than on Tundra Swan. 
This last feature makes the eye look more deeply set in a wider black base to 
the bill, not almost disjunct from the bill base as on Tundras. These features 
make me think that they were Trumpeter Swans, but I am surprised that there 
were 4 birds, a "big" count for Maryland. One of the 4 had a somewhat shallower v 
on the forehead, making me wonder if it was a Trumpling. Since they were all 
the same size, I guess I can't rule out that they were all Trumplings or back 
crosses.  None of the 4 had neck collars. I could see that two of them had no 
leg bands.
 
There has been a small party of Tundras hanging out along this stretch since 
Dec. I believe today's birds were recent arrivals.
 
Dave Czaplak
 
 
 
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