"Bewick's" Swan at Middle Creek W.M.A. ~ January 31, 2022

I took a ride out to the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area to look for the "Bewick's" Swan that was found there about a week ago, a first for Pennsylvania! The "Bewick's" Swan is presently classified as the Eurasian subspecies of Tundra Swan. Our subspecies is known as "Whistling" Swan. Instead of an all-black bill, about a third of the "Bewick's" bill is yellow at its base. They are rarely found in the western U.S. but are even rarer in the East where there are less than ten records. I had seen one in California years ago but had never seen one in the East.

When I got to Willow Point, there were a few birders searching for it among the close to 200 Tundra Swans. They were pretty far out on the ice-covered lake where a scope was needed to look through them, plus most of them were sleeping with their heads tucked in, so checking all of the bills was impossible. One alert birder was pretty sure that he had gotten a glimpse of 'the bird' when it briefly unutucked its head, so he directed the rest of us onto it. It took almost a half-hour before it finally became active and started preening. It 'was' the "Bewick's" Swan. I took some long-distance documentation photos of it. They are only good enough to show the yellowish patch at the base of the bill. Clicking on the photo will bring up a little larger image of each.

"Bewick's" Swan (center bird)

I also took a photo through the scope with my cell phone, which is terrible but does show the extent of yellow on the bill.

"Bewick's" Swan

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