Subject: [Tweeters] Five Trumpeter Swans, Fife-Puyallup
Date: Jan 13 19:03:55 2010
From: Kelly McAllister - mcallisters4 at comcast.net


I decided it was worth posting a message on the five swans I saw last Sunday, January 10th. They were in a filed of what appeared to be mostly harvested pumpkin plants on the south side of 44th St E, just off River Road E, west side of the Puyallup River, not far from Fife. There were 4 adults and one juvenile. A big flock of Northern Pintail and a small number of American Wigeon accompanied them in their exploration of rotting pumpkin biomass.

I also encountered a flock of about 12 Red Crossbills, on the side of 44th St E, just a hundred meters of so west of where I pulled over the view the swans. The crossbills were picking at the roadside gravel, perhaps just swallowing gravel. It did have me wondering about salt though.

On the Google Earth image, the swan field appears to be a corn maze.

Kelly McAllister
Olympia, Washington