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Re: More westerners, countability, Re: Scopes and Hooded Mergs





Regarding the Mute Swan countability...

I guess the situation here is pretty similar to that of the familiar Mallard.  I
would hasten to guess that the majority of the greenheads we see around these
parts are non-migratory feral birds.  The majority of the "wild" mallards use
the central flyway and winter from the Mississippi Valley south.  Generally the
same thing with Canada Geese.  Most all the birds in the piedmont are
non-migratory and resulted from escapes and introduction.  Eurasian Wigeon could
also be problematic as drakes are available to anyone with $50 and a mailing
address.  However, most Eurasians around here are seen with large groups of
American Wigeon in the winter and appear to be legitimate.  A mid-summer
sighting would probably raise some flags. That said, we as birders typically do
not discriminate against these species when considering countability.  We do,
however, regard most Mute Swan sightings as non-countable as the Mute,
presumably because the Mute has not been as successful in becoming
self-sustaining as the aforementioned birds.  (This is probably a good thing)

In any case, it does seem unusual that free-flying Mutes are seen so frequently
in these parts.  One would think that most owners of ornamental swans would
ensure their birds (and investment) don't fly away by pinioning the wings.
Obviously the free flying birds we see have not been pinioned.  Of course this
criteria cannot alone be used to determine the origin of a bird as not all
fanciers pinion or even band their birds (the Roanoke Island BB Whistling Duck
for example).  Other than lack of leg band and free flight, recognizing a
countable Mute is probably almost impossible.  The group of Mutes recently at
Wheeler had mineral staining on their necks and heads.  Could this mean they
came from somewhere else?  The locally common Lochmere Mute Swans (flock of
about 30) do not show any traces of
staining so presumably these birds did not recently split from that group.

There is a rather healthy population of Mute Swans as close as the upper
peninsula of Virginia, not 200 miles from Pea Island and a large portion of
eastern NC.
The Mute Swan has had a rather healthy increase in population in the northeast,
Great Lakes, and mid-Atlantic.  In fact, some groups are advocating programs to
limit the reproductive success of the swans in order to keep the population
growth/expansion under control.  The proximity of this population of birds lends
credence to the possibility/eventuality of "wild-feral" (as opposed to
"escaped-feral") arriving in NC.  The problem, however, is to recognize these
early colonizers when they arrive.  Or have they already??

Best,
Steve Shultz
Cary, NC  (home of quite a few ornamental Mute Swans)



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