Rare Bird Report 5-A-08
IDAHO BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE RARE BIRD REPORT FORM SPECIES: Whooper Swan HOW MANY: 1 adult REPORTER: Stephen Bouffard 2219 Colorado Ave Boise, Id 83706 208-344-3868 REPORTER EMAIL: sh_bouffard@yahoo.com OTHER OBSERVERS: none on this date that I am aware of. Multiple observaers on other days. DATE REPORT PREPARED: 4 December 2008 DATE SIGHTING OCCURRED: 1 December 2008 LOCALITY OF OBSERVATION: Hagerman Wildlife Management Area, Hagerman, ID. The whooper was in the northwest corner of the pond west of Route 30. I was at the north end of the road fill. HABITAT: open water marsh surrounded by bulrush CONDITIONS: length of observation was about 25 min. Started at 13:10. Wind was light - only minor ripples on water. Temp warm for this time of year - about 50F. Sky was clear, sun was high in the sky but no significant backlighting. Distance about 300+ yds. Used Fujinon 80mm scope, mostly on 20X, but occasionally at higher magnification. DID YOU TAKE NOTES?: No, not at all DID YOU CONSULT FIELD GUIDE OR OTHER REFERENCES?: Yes, another day after the observation WHAT GUIDE(S) OR REFERENCE(S) DID YOU CONSULT?: latest edition of National Geographic Guide actually I checked the guide before leaving Boise that morning - did not use the guide during the observation DESCRIPTION: This was a large swan - pure white plumage. It was large, roughly the same size as trumpeters that were also present. The head was wedge shaped, with the highest point aft of the eye. Bill was long and culmen was straight. Had extensive yellow on the upper bill and a finger of yellow on the underside of the lower bill. Legs and feet were dark gray. BEHAVIOR: I watched it preen for about 20 minutes when it suddenly became alert and started head bobbing. After 5 minutes or so of this, it flew off. I got a good look at both legs through the scope as it took off and can confirm that there were NO bands on the legs. The trumpeters that were present continued to preen through the entire observation and were still preening after the whooper flew and I left. I heard what sounded like a trumpeter call as the whooper left, but not being familiar with the whooper calls, I don't know which bird called. The whooper left alone in a northwesterly direction and I did not attempt to follow it. I watched the whooper head bob, which I understand is nervous (preflight) behavior also common in trumpeters but not tundras. At each bob the top 6 inches of neck inclined forward and the head was lowered and inclined down. HOW AND WHEN DID YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE BIRD, AND WHAT CLINCHED THE IDENTIFICATION FOR YOU? I identified the bird positively upon first glance. The focus of my observation was not so much as to the bird's identity as to whether it had any bands on its legs. I was watching the whooper for a good look at the legs. While it was preening I got looks at both legs above the ankle joint - no bands there. When it took off I could see those areas again and also the tarsi - no bands evident in either location. I looked at both areas since an escapee could conceivably be banded above or below the ankle joint. HOW DID YOU ELIMINATE SIMILAR SPECIES, AND WHAT WERE THEY? Yellow Bill - no other NA species has this much yellow on bill. Size, and head & bill shape were wrong for Bewick's swan. Also more yellow present than would occur on Bewick's With the whooper on the pond near the highway there were 2 adult and 1 cygnet swans. One adult for sure was a trumpeter. I would swear that the cygnet was also a trumpeter - it had a wedge shaped head and trumpeter size bil. The other adult was one of those questionable birds. The head looked rounded on top, but everything else looked like trumpeter, no lore spots, bare skin from gape to eye was fairly straight, definitely not angled as in tundras. It never kept its head still as it was preening constantly - and I was mostly watching the whooper. But I would say that it was also a trumpeter if I had to make a call. It seemed to loosely associate with the other adult trumpeter and the cygnet. The whooper and these three trumpeters were the only swans on the pond. My guess is that the whooper is moving independently, or loosely associating with other swans. The other 3 swans on the pond never showed alert postures when the whooper flew off. Other swans present in the area that day: There were 15-25 tundras on the larger pond off 2900 south. Just above the dam below Owsley (steel) Bridge there were 2 adult & 4 cygnet trumpeters. There were no other swans present with them. This was later in the afternoon about 15:30. EXPERIENCE WITH THIS SPECIES (AND SIMILAR SPECIES): I have seen this species in China and Russia, but never this close. I have extensive experience with swan identification in my former work as a US Fish & Wildlife Service biologist dealing with the Tri-State Flock in ID, MT & WY. GENERAL BIRDING EXPERIENCE: birding 40+ yrs good WERE PHOTO(S), VIDEO, AND/OR AUDIO OBTAINED BY YOU?: None