I'd be interested in knowing what others think about these swans as well. I struggle with identifying swans observed at a distance. The white on the forehead appears to come to a fairly sharp point at the juncture with the base of the bill, suggesting Trumpeter Swan. I've also seen indications that the black that extends from the base of the bill to surrounding the eye is a good character, with Tundras having more definition to the circular shape of the eye while Trumpeter eye shape is largely obscured by the extension of the black from the base of the bill. I can't really judge the slope of the crown and bill from this picture. My tendency is to believe that these are Trumpeter Swans, in part because the necks look long to me.

Kelly McAllister
Olympia, Washington
----- Original Message -----
From: birdmandea at aol.com
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 6:46 AM
Subject: [Tweeters] Swan ID ?




Greetings,

On 3/04/10 I was driving East on 212th in Kent around 9am. I saw six Swans in the muddy field on the North side of the road. I do not see many in my birding orbits so I am questioning my Swan ID skills. I am thinking Tundra but not sure. There was one that was very gray so I am assuming it was a 1st year bird.l Also is the reddish hue on the face from where they were feeding?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25348030 at N07/4413158273/

Thanks, take care!
Dea Just



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