Birders,



I have already received a reply back from the Bird Banding Lab about the
neck-collared Tundra Swan that I reported 3 days ago to Whatcom Birders, off
Badger Road near State Route 539, just N of Lynden. I didn't expect a
response so soon-- the website says that it will normally take 2-3 weeks
for a response. I am impressed with the promptness of the reply.



At any rate, the collared swan was a male Tundra Swan, which was captured,
banded and collared on July 23, 2009 near Egegik, a small village on the
shore of Bristol Bay, near the base of the Alaska Peninsula. The bird would
be at least 7 years old. I presume that it wintered somewhere in California
or possibly Oregon, and stopped near Lynden in the course of its spring
migration.



I don't know how many neck-collared Tundra Swans there are flying around out
there, but for the next few weeks, it might be fun to look for neck collars
and if you find one, try to read the alphanumeric code and report it to the
Bird Banding Lab. By early April, all of the swans, Tundra and Trumpeter,
are usually gone from Washington.