Subject: Montlake Fill and Orting Whooper Swan
Date: Apr 17 14:08:48 2000
From: Sgd24 at aol.com - Sgd24 at aol.com


Tweets,
Well I had only planned on doing an early morning walk at the fill.
Highlights here were the SNOW GOOSE thats been around all winter, 2 pairs of
CINNAMON TEAL and 15-20 AMERICAN PIPIT.

I got home checked my email and saw Gene's message on the Whooper and since I
also had never seen one I headed down to Orting.

I got down to the site and the swan was laying on the lawn next to the pond.
A couple of points lead me to think it *might* be a wild bird.

1)It appeared to be quite hungry. It was eating alot of grass, ripping off
huge clumps of grass. It seemed to be either eating or sleeping 85-90% of the
time. I would think a tame bird would not need to eat so much grass if it had
been getting regular food. It acted like a bird that had been starved. The
grass eating was also laying down, not walking or standing.

2)At least when I saw there, it was NOT associating with the Canadas or the
domestic goose there.

3)It does not have any bands or clipped wings as Gene had stated, however it
does appear to have something the matter with its left wing. Its missing at
least one primary and it is reluctant to stretch out its left wing, while it
has no problem flaping its right. (Yes I know what you are all thinking:
Great, another rare injured bird in the Tacoma area!)

Its a great looking bird, wild or not.

Scott Downes
sgd24 at aol.com
Seattle WA

To identify a species should not be enough to quench one's thirst,
a proper thirst must seek to understand every facet of the bird's
existence.