>What is the status of Mute Swans in WA? The species is indicated as
>rare/accidental on the current WOS field card (and I think a few sightings
>of MS were mentioned in a recent WOSnews), implying that WOS does not
>recognize an established population of Mute Swans in WA. Robbins et al
>1983, however, show Mute Swans in the Puget Sound area ranging up into
>southern BC, which suggests an established population. Is there a
>geographically extensive population of feral Mute Swans here that Robbins
>et al regarded as established (including the ones at Montlake?), or is
>their map simply in error?
>
>If WOS does regard Mute Swan as not-established in WA, what criteria are
>used to assess the status of some Mute Swans in WA as truly wild
>(vagrants)? Does it require a wild bird banded in Eurasia and identified
>as such by its band in WA, or is it a judgment-call thing? It seems like
>it would be extremely difficult to make a subjective judgment in the
>affirmative if there are lots of ferals in the state to begin with.
>
>
>David Wright
>dwright at u.washington.edu

There are several opinions about Mute Swans in Washington. First of all,
these swans are certainly not vagrants from Eurasia; no one thinks that.
The most liberal viewpoint is that swans from the long-established feral
population around Victoria wander over here from time to time and furnish
"bona fide" occurrences in the state (in the same way an Acorn Woodpecker
does when it wanders over from Oregon). There is absolutely no proof for
this, but it's not unlikely considering the strong flying abilities of
these birds. The most conservative opinion (the one I hold, being a
hide-bound conservative) is that exactly *because* there is no evidence
that the swans are coming from the established population, that each swan
should be considered "of unknown origin" (read: escaped captive) and thus
be about as significant to the Washington avifauna (and thus "official"
state list) as the crimson-fronted parakeets that come through my yard.
Much as I hate to say it, birders have a tendency to want birds to be
"official;" if birds are official, their presence on a life list (or state
list or whatever) is official. The Washington Bird Records Committee is
going to take up this matter at some meeting in the near future to make our
own "official" decision, which may or may not be followed by all our
disparate members.....in fact, some of us on the WBRC are among the most
disparate of WA birders (I didn't say "desperate").

There are Mute Swans breeding in Union Bay, as many of us have seen, but
the occasional young bird that survives to adulthood doesn't really
represent an "established population," as the American Birding Association
considers necessary for an introduced bird to be counted by its members.
Right now there's an interesting Catch-22, in that some birders want to
count Mute Swan on their lists, which should be done only if there is an
established population, and many agency people and environmentalists
(including birders) want to make darned sure that no population of this
bird ever becomes established!


Dennis Paulson phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound email: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416