ML146190661

Age and sex

Adult, Unknown sex - X

Observation details

Large all white, adult swan with black bill narrowing towards the lores so that the eye appeared separate; small yellow spots at the base of this narrowing on each side. Head rounded and neck thick-looking, not overly long. Body proportionate too (not huge and long like Trumpeter). Feet black and large, but not huge like Trumpeter. The black bill showed a reddish line along the tomium. The eye appear dark. Long white wings, short rounded tail. This bird was first reported yesterday by William Nichols, whose parents found it at Sandy Point Beach. The bird was on a small fresh water pond there and apparently flew off up river. John Wyatt relocated the bird here this morning. This species has become a fairly scarce bird in Maine, with only a handful of records in recent decades. This is the first in 5 years when two occurred in the fall of 2009. This is my second for the state, having seen one at Scarborough Marsh previously in 2004. Prior to that an apparent family group visited Sebago Lake in consecutive years during the 1990s. Counting those as one continuing record, this may be just the 9th record of Tundra Swan in the state since the late 1970s. By contrast, Pink-footed Goose has occurred 7 times in recent years.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

EF300mm f/2.8L IS II USM

ISO

640

Focal length

300 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/7.1

Shutter speed

31666/39582501 sec

Dimensions

2302 pixels x 1534 pixels

Original file size

630.89 KB