Tundra swan, not a trumpeter!

I misidentified the swan as a trumpeter, rather it is a tundra swan.  First I ever saw one.

OK - so what is a tundra swan?  I knew of mute and trumpeter, but never heard of tundra swans before.  I posted a blog on the BC birds site I belong to and was soon told it wasn't a trumpeter but rather a tundra swan (thanks to Les W Dewar).  The yellow mark by the eye is the key to identification.  And yes, this bird certainly has it.

If you look at the range map (here), you can see that it is called a tundra swan for a very good reason; it flies far to the north to the edge of the continent and breeds along or near the Arctic's coastline.  The funny thing, though, is that there is a tiny area in central southern BC in the Okanagan where they be found when not breeding.  My guess is that these birds are part of the local population that has spent the winter here.

When they overwinter they are perfectly comfortable sleeping in the water as I witnessed them doing.  You can see in the image below where one is resting and the other is active.


Thanks for reading.  Again, apologies for my previous mistake.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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