Swan ID can be difficult at times, witness the amount of ID information designed to assist the budding birder with this vexing problem.
So ro get a jump on the oft frigid late fall/early winter swan migration and hone your ID skills, consider repairing to the foothills of Mt. Evans to study and learn about Trumpeter Swans in shirt sleeve weather. >From I-70 west of Denver take the Evergreen Exit. Near Bergen Park turn right on route 103 (aka Squaw Pass Road), Jefferson County. Within a few miles reside a few Trumpeter Swans on a small lake. The homeowner told me that he brought them with him from Wisconsin three years ago (is this legal?) and has kept the water open through winter with a big fountain. He feeds them well, they look healthy and presumably their wings are clipped, so they are stuck there. (Clear Creek County listers please note that they cannot be harassed into flying a little west into that county). Their companion is a Black Swan. One can study the head profile, body proportions, leg size and the other salient field marks of the Trumpeter Swan, engraining the images in the "ID skills" part of your brain. When winter arrives with confusing Trumpeter and Tundra (and the occasional Mute) Swans, one will be primed with these mental images. Photo op too. AND if you have Mandarin Duck, Jungle Fowl and some sparrow on your "pending acceptance" list, now you can add Black Swan. Caution: take care in parking along the narrow shoulder of this busy road. Joe Roller, Denver -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
