Tweets,
I glanced at a picture cut out of the local paper a couple of weeks ago
that was of a pair of swans in a field near Snohomish. The swan on the
right looks alot like a whooper swan as Dr. Dave Manuwal (UW
ornithologist) and I both agreed on, because the grainess of the picture
in the paper I could not tell if the bird might have been a Bewick's race
Tundra Swan, although the yellow extended almost to the nostril area of
the bill and the size and structure of this bird closely resembled the
Trumpeter next to it. It also looked as though the birds might be a pair.
My questions are this:
1)Did anybody happen to see the picture and could comment on the bird in
question?
2)Since the other swan was a Trumpeter does anybody happen to know if
hybrization occurs between Whooper and Trumpeter?
3) As far as I know the Whooper Swan is not on the state checklist. Does
anybody from the WABRC past or present know what the occurence of
submitted reports are of this species.
Finally though the picture in the paper is pretty good, there always is a
slight grainess and there is the remote possiblity of the substance not
pertaining to the birds plumage, though it sure looks like it to me. I
will try to find the paper reference and maybe others could look at the
photo.
Thanks for any input,

Scott Downes
sdownes at u.washington.edu
Seattle WA

"Birds don't read bird books. (That's why they are seen doing things they
are not supposed to do)." -Mary Wood