Tweeters, much as I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, it might be a
little premature to be filling in those boxes with tick marks. Someone who
observed it just e-mailed me and said the Whooper Swan on the Orting golf
course is missing the primaries on its left wing (permanent removal or
crippling of one "hand" is how waterfowl fanciers keep them from flying
away). Ruth Sullivan photographed the bird today, and she's going to show
me her photos when she gets them developed tomorrow, including of the
spread wings. If that left hand is really missing, I think the
parsimonious conclusion is that the bird was placed there by someone.

Did any birders question the golf course personnel about the bird? From a
few comments I've read/heard, it sounds far too tame to me to be a wild
swan. Fortunately, it must have been a nice bird to look at, wild or not.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone 253-879-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax 253-879-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416
http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/museum.html