Bruce and I are adapting slowly but surely to living in the
South east. I still do miss California; especially my daughter, mother, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, but I have learned to treasure
what I have in this environment. especially the swans (I always thought that wild swans and storks were something that
existed only in Hans Christian Anderson Fairy-tales)… Wrong!!!! They are right here in South Carolina.
The easiest place to see swans is Swan Lake in Sumter SC. Swan Lake is the only public park in the world to feature all eight species of swans: the Tundra Swans (Whistler swan, the Bewick swan), the Trumpeter Swan, Royal White Mute Swan, the Black Australians Swan, Black Necked swan, the Coscoroba Swan ,and the the Whooper Swan. Someof these were deliberately imported; some migrated in on their own , but all are thriving
Many migratory swans are found in the managed wetlands and even in the retaining ponds around shopping centers. Here are a few we have spotted, and a bit about each of the species
Tundra swans are native North American Tundra, China. They are the largest migratory waterfowl species found in South Carolina and measures over 48 cm (4 feet) long with an average weight for adults and immatures of 16 and 13 pounds, respectively. The bird is characterized by its distinctive long, straight neck, black bill, all-white plumage and unique call. he Tundra Swan can be further distinguished by its yellow lores. As little as 20 years ago the migratory Tundra Swans were common in Virginia and rarely seen in South Carolina, but they appear to be migrating ever farther South as their northern wetlands disappear or become polluted. Tundra swans are not hunted in South Carolina and their main threat is habitat related.
The whistling swan is the American race of the Tundra Swan,
C Columbus currently is
considered the same species as the Eurasian Bewick's swan (Cygnus bewickii which is native to Northern Russia from the Kanin Delta to the Lena Delta & migrates to parts of Japan).
They were considered separate species in the past. You can distinguished them from one another by
the large yellow patches on the face of the Bewick's swan.
Tundra swans are often confused with trumpeter swans, and indeed the two
species are very similar in appearance. They are most easily
distinguished by their calls and their smaller necks and size. Tundra Swans have high-pitched honking calls and sound similar to a Black goose. Contrary to their name their calls are not a whistle and the whistiling swans call is not notably different from that of Bewick's
Swan. The ground call is a bow wow and flight call a low and soft ringing bark, bow-wow wow....
The Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) is native to North America, Alaska, Albeta, British Columbia. It is the heaviest bird native to North America and is, on average, the largest waterfowl species on earth. It is the North American counterpart and a close relative of the Whooper Swan of Eurasia, and even has been considered the same species by some authorities. Adults usually measure 54–65 in long, though large males can range up to71 in)or more. The weight of adult birds is typically15–30 lb, with an average weight in males of 26 lb and 21 lb inches females.The wingspan ranges from 73 to 98 in. The largest known male Trumpeter attained a length of 72 in, a wingspan of 10 ft and a weight of38 lb. That's a really big bird. Its larger size , its significantly longer neck, and its distinct french horn like honk can help to distinguish it from the Tundra Swan
The adult Trumpeter Swan is all white in plumage. As with a Whooper
Swan, this species has upright posture and a straight neck at all times. The Trumpeter Swan has a large, wedge-shaped black bill that can, in
some cases, be minimally lined with salmon-pink coloration around the
mouth. The bill measures 4.1–4.7 inches. l. The legs are gray-pink in color.
Trumpeters can belong to a migratory and non migratory or a non-migratory flocks. Most of the birds we see here in South Carolina belong to the latter. but some do migrate in and out and can be seen flying in large noisy v-shaped formations.
Trumpeters are usually only found in pristine wetlands with minimal human disturbance
Their breeding habitat is large shallow ponds, undisturbed lakes, pristine wetlands and wide slow rivers in northwestern and central North America. They prefer nesting sites with enough space for them to have enough surface water for them to take off, as well as accessible food, shallow, unpolluted water, and little or no human disturbance
Trumpeter Swans often mate for life, and both parents will participate in
raising the cygnets, but only the female will incubate the eggs. Most
pair bonds are formed when swans are 4 to 7 years old, although some
pairs do not form until they are nearly 20 years old. "Divorces" have
been known between birds, in which case the mates will be serially
monogamous, with different mates in differing breeding seasons.
Occasionally, if his mates dies, a male Trumpeter Swan may not pair
again for the rest of his life
The Mute Swan (C. olor), has been introduced to North America from Britain. It is scarcely smaller than the Trumpeter Swan. However, it can easily be distinguished by its orange bill and different physical structure (particularly the neck, which is always curved down as opposed to straight in the Trumpeter). The Mute Swan is often found in developed areas near human habitation in North America
The Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large waterfowl imported from Australia. Black Swans are large birds with mostly black plumage and red bills. They are monogamous breeders that share incubation duties and cygnet rearing between the sexes.
Black Swans are popular birds in zoological gardens and bird
collections, and escapees are often seen populating outside their original collection. We have watched a two birds spread from a small retaining pond near a starage yard along the 701 hywy to a dozen or more in several of the adjacent ponds along the same highway. (And that is just what we can see from our passing vehicle. With further invstigation of the area we might find a lot more)..
The Black-necked Swan (Cygnus melancoryphus ) is native to South America, Falkland Islands ). It is the largest waterfowl native to South America. The Black Necked Swan migrates to the Northern Hemisphere after breeding in the southern third of South America and the Falkland Islands. In the United States it found in zoos and collections but but we have not seen it ioutside of collections as often as it cousins the Muted and the Black Swans have. Perhaps I am just not recognizing it as a swan when I see it.
The average weight of a Black Necked Swan is 9-12 lbs. It is the smallest member of the species , the body plumage is white with a black neck, head and greyish bill.
It has a red knob near the base of the bill and white stripe behind
eye. The sexes are similar, with the female slightly smaller. The Black-necked Swan, like its nearest relatives the Black and the Mute Swan is relatively silent. Also, unlike most wild fowl, both parents regularly carry the cygnets
on their backs. The female lays four to six eggs in a nest of
vegetation mound. The diet consists mainly of vegetation, insects and
fish spawn.
The Coscoroba Swan (Coscoroba coscoroba) is native to South America, Falkland Islands. It is the smallest of the birds called "swans", averaging 9.3 lbs, 3.3 ft long and 5.2 ft across the wings
The Coscoroba Swan has white plumage except for black tips to the outer six primary feathers,
although this black is often barely visible on the closed wing. In
flight, the black wing tips are conspicuous. The bird has a red beak,
legs and feet. Again this import may be more common in South Carolina than I know as they look somewhat more like geese than swans. The juveniles are even better disguised than their parents with brown splotched plumage all over their bodies.
The Whooper Swan (pronounced hooper), Cygnus cygnus, is a large Northern Hemisphere Swan native to Sweden, Finland, Northern Russia, Japan, China. It is the Eurasian counterpart of the North American Trumpeter Swan. While widely distributed in Europe, it has not migrated to the North America. Examples of the species are best seen within imported collections such as those at Swan Garden in Sumter, SC.
The Whooper Swan is similar in appearance to the Berswick Swan. It can be distinguished from the smaller Bewick’s swan in that the
wedge-shaped yellow colouration of the bill extends beyond the nostrils,
with the rest of the bill being black; in Bewick’s swans the yellow
patch is small and rounded.
Its common name refers to the loud ‘whooping’ calls that it produce. sThis large white swan tends to hold its neck erect whilst swimming
In spring and summer, some adults may develop rusty ‘stained’ plumage
on the neck and head caused by the iron-rich water on which they live.
The easiest place to see swans is Swan Lake in Sumter SC. Swan Lake is the only public park in the world to feature all eight species of swans: the Tundra Swans (Whistler swan, the Bewick swan), the Trumpeter Swan, Royal White Mute Swan, the Black Australians Swan, Black Necked swan, the Coscoroba Swan ,and the the Whooper Swan. Someof these were deliberately imported; some migrated in on their own , but all are thriving
Many migratory swans are found in the managed wetlands and even in the retaining ponds around shopping centers. Here are a few we have spotted, and a bit about each of the species
Tundra swans are native North American Tundra, China. They are the largest migratory waterfowl species found in South Carolina and measures over 48 cm (4 feet) long with an average weight for adults and immatures of 16 and 13 pounds, respectively. The bird is characterized by its distinctive long, straight neck, black bill, all-white plumage and unique call. he Tundra Swan can be further distinguished by its yellow lores. As little as 20 years ago the migratory Tundra Swans were common in Virginia and rarely seen in South Carolina, but they appear to be migrating ever farther South as their northern wetlands disappear or become polluted. Tundra swans are not hunted in South Carolina and their main threat is habitat related.
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| Tundra Whistling swan c- columbianus |
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| Eurasian Berwirk Whistling Swan (aka Cygnus bewickii) |
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| Tundra Whistling Swan (aka cygnus-columbianus) |
The Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) is native to North America, Alaska, Albeta, British Columbia. It is the heaviest bird native to North America and is, on average, the largest waterfowl species on earth. It is the North American counterpart and a close relative of the Whooper Swan of Eurasia, and even has been considered the same species by some authorities. Adults usually measure 54–65 in long, though large males can range up to71 in)or more. The weight of adult birds is typically15–30 lb, with an average weight in males of 26 lb and 21 lb inches females.The wingspan ranges from 73 to 98 in. The largest known male Trumpeter attained a length of 72 in, a wingspan of 10 ft and a weight of38 lb. That's a really big bird. Its larger size , its significantly longer neck, and its distinct french horn like honk can help to distinguish it from the Tundra Swan
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| Trumpeter Swan with cygnets |
_RWD2.jpg) |
| Trumpeter Swan Closeup |
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| Trumpeters Migrating have a French Horn tone |
Their breeding habitat is large shallow ponds, undisturbed lakes, pristine wetlands and wide slow rivers in northwestern and central North America. They prefer nesting sites with enough space for them to have enough surface water for them to take off, as well as accessible food, shallow, unpolluted water, and little or no human disturbance
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| Mated Trumpeters with their cygnets |
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| White Muted Swan (C. olor) |
The Mute Swan (C. olor), has been introduced to North America from Britain. It is scarcely smaller than the Trumpeter Swan. However, it can easily be distinguished by its orange bill and different physical structure (particularly the neck, which is always curved down as opposed to straight in the Trumpeter). The Mute Swan is often found in developed areas near human habitation in North America
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| Muted Swan |
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| Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) with its white cygnets |
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| Black Swan with Juvenile |
The Black-necked Swan (Cygnus melancoryphus ) is native to South America, Falkland Islands ). It is the largest waterfowl native to South America. The Black Necked Swan migrates to the Northern Hemisphere after breeding in the southern third of South America and the Falkland Islands. In the United States it found in zoos and collections but but we have not seen it ioutside of collections as often as it cousins the Muted and the Black Swans have. Perhaps I am just not recognizing it as a swan when I see it.
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| The Black-necked Swan (Cygnus melancoryphus) |
The Coscoroba Swan (Coscoroba coscoroba) is native to South America, Falkland Islands. It is the smallest of the birds called "swans", averaging 9.3 lbs, 3.3 ft long and 5.2 ft across the wings
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| The Coscoroba Swan (Coscoroba coscoroba) |
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| Juvenile Coscoroba Swan |
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| Whooper Swan ( Cygnus cygnus) |
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| Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus at Swan Gardens |
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| Whooper Swan Head |
