Birders,

The Whooper Swan saga continues. In the attached message from OBOL,
Kevin Spencer of Tulelake, Calif. reports an adult and 2 imm. WHOOPER
SWANS from the Lower Klamath NWR, and speculates that they are the
same birds reported a few weeks ago from Summer Lake, Oregon.

Wayne C. Weber
Kamloops, BC
wayne_weber at bc.sympatico.ca



-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin Spencer <kspencer at TULESD.TULELAKE.K12.CA.US>
To: Multiple recipients of list OBOL <OBOL at BOBO.NWS.ORST.EDU>
Date: Sunday, January 07, 2001 11:14 PM
Subject: WHOOPER SWAN, LOW.KLAM.NWR


>OBOL,
>
>Following up on a second hand report, at White Lake, Lower Klamath
NWR,
>today, Sunday, 7 Jan 2001, and not 500 yds south of the Oregon border
into
>CA, 1 Whooper Swan was seen, with 2 cygnets, or immature Whooper
Swans;
>seen by Frank Mayer, Dave Haupt, and myself.
>
>This was interesting due to previous messages regarding a Whooper
Swan
>"family" late last fall at Summer Lake, OR. I believe in those
messages
>there was at least two immature Whooper Swans described as
associating with
>one adult Whooper Swan, and maybe one Tundra Swan.
>
>The two immature birds that I observed, were large, and equal in size
to
>the adult Whooper Swan. Their bills had about 25% dark black at the
end,
>and the base, 75% of the bill, a more pale gray with a hint of yellow
on
>that portion on one of the birds. The bill shape was similar to the
Whooper
>Swan, with a profile that appeared straight and unploped. It did not
appear
>to me to be intermediate between Whooper and Tundra. There were at
least
>two adult Tundra Swans and one immature Tundra Swans nearby.
>
>I would say that it is highly likely that this group of Whooper Swans
is
>probably the same group that was seen earlier in the winter or late
fall at
>Summer Lake.
>
>Kevin Spencer
>kspencer at tulesd.tulelake.k12.ca.us