ML646678064

Observation details

Notes by Chris and Rosie Howard, written 8 Dec 2025: We met Nancy and Barb at the southwest-most Buckley Pond to see the swan that Jon Becknell found and reported as a Trumpeter Swan on 5 Dec. When we arrived, Nancy and Barb had the swan in a scope. It was actually rather close in a small pond (37 meters, as measured later in Google Earth). Upon initial inspection with binoculars, we could see that it was a bulky swan with a long body, its head was injured, notably the crown had a laceration and had lost its feathers, and the left eye was damaged and red. It had what looked like a puncture wound and a tear on the top of its head above the left eye, and another clear puncture below the left eye. It looked like some mammal, a coyote perhaps, had grabbed the bird's head in its jaws. The right eye was black and seemed unaffected. The main goal of our visit was to obtain first-hand field experience with this individual, since it is widely recognized that separating immature Tundra from Trumpeter Swan is challenging, particularly in early winter. Additionally, due to the low-angle sun this time of year and bright blue skies we've had the past few days, many of the photos obtained since its discovery on 5 Dec showed a whitish plumage (not gray), perhaps overexposed. In the field, the body of the bird, and particularly the neck, was cold gray, lacking brownish tones, and only a small percentage of body feathers had been replaced with white feathers. Notably, the "skirt" on the folded wing, just above the water, was the only large area of plumage fully transitioned to white. After time in the field and discussion of relevant field marks with Nancy and Barb, we have confidence this bird is a Trumpeter Swan, based on the following: 1) lack of widespread plumage replacement from gray to white feathers, 2) overall battleship gray plumage, particularly dark in the neck, 3) dull yellow colored feet and legs, and 4) the pink portion of the bill is constrained to the mid-section of the bill, the rest of teh bill was black including a broad area at the base. The next paragraph refers to the Cygnet section of this article: https://www.trumpeterswansociety.org/file_download/inline/5eb99577-f3f8-499b-8bd4-b2e8add1224f The unquoted portions are paraphrased. Bill shape is not reliable, as both species have straight culmens in their first year. Tundras tend to have more pink on the bill, particularly at the base. The U vs V shape of the feathering between the eyes on adults is not useful on cygnets. Plumage coloration, however, can be helpful. "By November, most [Tundra] cygnets had a mottled plumage of white and brownish gray, with white being a significant, if not dominant, part of the coloring. The plumage became progressively whiter through December, so it was the dominant color for most cygnets by January. A few [Tundra] cygnets had a dominantly gray plumage into early February. Trumpeter plumage is battleship gray with only scattered white feathers molted in through winter and spring, not becoming fully white until the summer of its second calendar year. "On the average, Trumpeters seemed to retain a grayish plumage longer than [Tundra] did." The paragraph below is quoted from a different article, https://www.trumpeterswansociety.org/swan-information/identification/juvenile-swan-identification.html "Trumpeter juveniles are darker sooty gray, especially in the head and neck area. Their leg and foot color varies from pink to yellowish to dusky brown through their first year. Trumpeter juveniles usually remain darker gray longer than Tundra Swans. Trumpeter juveniles have gray feathers on the head and neck persisting well into spring. Wintering Trumpeter juveniles may vary in age by up to 6 weeks due to geographic differences in hatching dates. As a result, they show considerable individual and geographic variation in the timing of their molt into white plumage during their second summer." "Tundra juveniles are brighter silvery gray with black legs and feet. Their feathers begin turning white in late December. By mid-March they are nearly all white." Postscript: Nancy phoned the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and two wardens attempted to capture the bird, intent on providing medical treatment. The bird evaded them and was not captured. They indicated to Nancy, swans are "strong and recover from these kinds of wounds often and can survive with one eye".