I sent a photo of the swan that I spotted yesterday to Van Harris who writes a regular article about birds for the Memphis newspaper, The Commercial Appeal. Van, a former president of the Memphis Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society, said that it is likely that the swan was possibly not a trumpeter swan, but instead North America’s other native species, the tundra swan. As its name implies, the tundra swan lives in the arctic tundra. Its winter-time migration normally takes it to the East or West coast of the United States. Both birds are quite similar in appearance, with the tundra swan somewhat smaller in size. Van directed me to The Trumpeter Swan Society, a conservation group involved in restoration of the species that came very close to extinction in the early 1900s. You can view the group’s efforts at http://www.trumpeterswansociety.org/. I will continue to watch this swan and report it to the group. By observing new locations for trumpeter and tundra swan migrations, the group attempts to plan conservation efforts in the South. Habitat restoration efforts for swans benefit numerous other species. This single swan shared a large flooded rice field with hundreds of northern shovelers, mallards, and northern pintails. The wildlife that we observe serves as an indicator of the condition of our environment. The presence of waterfowl in particular illustrates the successful efforts of many concerned individuals and groups.
I am posting another picture of the swan, probably a tundra; I will continue to refine the identification. If you click on the picture, you can see the swan preening its feathers. Behind the magnificent swan are northern shovelers, beautiful ducks with broad bills. The wide-open expanses of the Arkansas Delta can be seen in this deceptive photo, taken in rain and low light. The upright light poles are located at a railroad terminal three miles in the distance. The heavy tree line is an old chute of the Mississippi River four miles away
--Richard
Posts
Absolutely astonishing at the fruits of the labors of such groups as the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited and many others that continue to work hard to preserve our habitat for these magnificent creatures.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know if you guys were aware or not of the fact that where i reside here in Eastern North Carolina, it is the largest wintering ground in North America i dare say for the tundra swan.
They arrive here at Lake Mattumuskeet by the thousands, hundreds of thousands every year. We recently had a battle with the Navy for over 3 years to deter them in building an outlying landing field for the Navy fighter jets simulating landing on aircraft carriers. They fought long and hard to build this very busy landing zone only 5 miles from this 50,000 acre natural lake.
The arguments battled for 3 years before finally convincing a federal judge that the loss of multi million dollar jets taking such large birds into their flight paths and ultimately into their jet intakes resulting in the potential deaths of many American Pilots simply wasn't worth it.
Thanks to this Judge and his backbone, he put the final stamp of disapproval on that fight.
So thankfully for such beautiful creatures they can continue to maintain their numbers and their normal flight routine ending in wintering and spending some time with us North Carolinians, gracing us with their presence prior to departing back to alaska.
Such beautiful majestic creatures.
Chris
Hailing from Eastern NC
Forgot to include, thanks for posting such a beautiful picture for us to enjoy. Those ducks sharign that waterway in that natural environment is so cool.
ReplyDeleteChris
I ran across your post looking through archives of Trumpeter Swan sightings for Kentucky. I'm pleased to see we have someone watching this area, thank you for the effort. Its been an exciting winter with Trumpeter Swans showing up in places they have not been for a century! We have a lot of identification tips on the website, as well as a key to the colors and numbers for collars and wing-tags if you are lucky enough to spot a marked bird. We have a Blog too, http://trumpeterswansociety.wordpress.com
ReplyDeleteThank you for keeping us in mind for your reports - Peg Abbott, Outreach Coordinator, The Trumpeter Swan Society
Peg,
ReplyDeleteI have been watching the swan daily since I first observed it about February 2. The bird has been occupying large flooded rice fields here in the Proctor, Arkansas area of the Mississippi River Delta. All of my observations have been at great distances. Other individuals have identified the bird as a tundra swan. I will keep trying to identify field marks. Thank you for the information.
--Richard