While on my way home from Aberdeen today I stopped to look at a flock of swans. There were both TUNDRA and TRUMPTER. However one bird stood out in the one flock of swans. It would be helpful to get more than just my eyes on this bird. I don't feel comfortable making a 100% call on the identification because of the rarity of the bird and a bit of the aberation of the color markings on the bill. But it looked like there might have been a MUTE SWAN in the flock. The reason for the hesitation is that I have only seen them once before and that was only for a brief time.



The color of the bill was yellow and black rather than orange and black. I did look through bunch of photos on the internet and there were some birds that seemed to have the bill tending towards a yellow markings.



The flock of swans was on Highway 12 between Rochester and Oakville. Just west of the Black River Bridge. The birds have been frequently some farm fields on the south side of the highway about a mile west of the bridge. If you go past the second road to the left after the bridge you have gone too far.



I would appreciate any comments anyone might have on the color variations on the bill.



Roger Moyer

Chehalis, WA

rogermoyer1 at hotmail.com

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