1^st Round
(2 Accept, 5 Reject)

2^nd Round
(1 Accept, 6 Reject)

Shirley Sturts -- Reject, natural occurrence questionable

According to Sibley "Escapes are occasionally seen". I would like to know the thoughts of other Committee members on this sighting.

Chuck Trost -- Accept

Good write-up and excellent photos. I think he is right about the head shape and size eliminating Bewick's. I know many other people saw this bird also.

Dave Trochlell -- Reject, natural occurrence questionable

This appears to be an imm. Whooper Swan, although I've read that there's been a question as to whether or not it's a hybrid swan. Perhaps more troubling here is the question of origin, given that the Hagerman Valley is a location where free-flying, exotic birds are frequently reported. For this reason, I believe we should reject this potential record.

Cliff Weisse -- Reject, specific identification not established

Although this individual appears similar to a juvenile Whooper Swan there are some characters that I feel are not consistent with that identification. The main points of contention are extent of yellow on bill and neck structure.

Extent of Yellow on Bill: The extent of yellow on the bill is less than on any photo of a known Whooper of similar or older age I've seen. I'm looking at this character in two ways; where the yellow ends relative to the nostril; and what percentage of the length of the bill contains yellow. On all photos of Whoopers that I've seen the distal end of the yellow patch extends more than half way down the length of the bill. On the Idaho bird it ends less than half way down the length of the bill, which actually may be within the range of variation of Bewick's Tundra Swan(?). Another way I'm trying to evaluate this character is that the yellow extends to the distal end of the nostril on all Whoopers I've seen photos of. On the Idaho bird the yellow extends short of half way down the nostril. Although there is considerable variation in the shape and overall extent of the yellow patch in Whooper Swan, the point where the distal end of the yellow patch ends on the bill is very consistent in the limited photo sample I've looked at. I realize there is variation but I haven't yet seen a Whooper Swan that has a yellow patch as limited as on the Idaho bird.

Neck Structure: In the photos I've found, Whoopers consistently appear obviously thicker-necked than Trumpeters. The Idaho bird appears relatively thin-necked in all photos, consistent with Tundra in this character. There are Trumpeters in some photos for comparison and the neck consistently looks thin. Posture obviously plays a role in the apparent structure of the neck but I can't find any photos of Whoopers that come close to having such a thin neck, and I've found several that show birds in an alert posture with neck straight up and appearing thinner than Whoopers in a more relaxed posture.

Because of these anomalous characters I feel that "Bewick's" Tundra Swan, and especially Tundra x Whooper Swan, can not be ruled out in this case.

Even if this individual could safely be classified as a Whooper Swan the issue of natural occurrence of this species is suspect. There are numerous waterfowl breeders active in the Hagerman area as well as in other parts of the Snake River plain. Swans are popular with these breeders and escapees are regular as evidenced by the past occurrence of other exotic waterfowl species. This said there is some evidence to support natural occurrence. Other Asian vagrants were reported during the same time period including Whooper Swan in WA state as well as a juvenile "Bewick's" Tundra Swan at the same location where this individual was seen.

Carlisle -- Reject, natural occurrence questionable

Critical field marks observed & documented in photos. I have 2 reservations: 1) wild or escapee and 2) size. 1) As with all waterfowl, it's difficult to know the origin of birds seen well out of range due to the existence of captive breeding and escapees. I think the IBRC should establish guidelines for species such as this whose origin may be wild but must be questioned. 2) In photos # 2 & 3, the bird in question appears noticeably smaller (possibly 5-10%) than the nearby immature Trumpeter Swans yet National Geographic lists them as being of similar size. Could this be a sex difference?

Charles Swift -- Accept

The identification seems pretty clear cut and the report sites the article by Terry McEaneny (Yellowstone biologist) providing a rationale for natural occurrence of the species in NA.

Dumroese -- Reject, natural occurrence questionable

The photos show what appears to me as a juvenile WHSW. The written description is very thin for a potential first record. My nagging concern is origin, and how we deal with this as a committee.