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Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus)
Above: A Tundra Swan at Point Lookout State Park, Maryland (1/1/2009).
Below: An adult Tundra Swan at Blackwater NWR, Maryland (12/17/2006).
Below: An Adult Tundra Swan near Annapolis, Maryland (1/2005).
Below: Tundra Swans over Eastern Neck NWR, Kent Co., Maryland (11/22/2009).
Below: An immature Tundra Swan in Dorchester Co., Maryland (3/23/2014). (View MBP)
Below: An immature Tundra Swan in Dorchester Co., Maryland (3/23/2014). (View MBP)
Below: An immature Tundra Swan in Dorchester Co., Maryland (3/23/2014). (View MBP)
Below: An immature Tundra Swan in Dorchester Co., Maryland (3/23/2014). (View MBP)
Below: An immature Tundra Swan in Dorchester Co., Maryland (3/23/2014). (View MBP)
Comments: These beautiful swans nest in the arctic and spend their winters along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. A noisy flock passing overhead on a cold winter day is refreshing evidence of wildness still at large in the world. Note the Tundra Swan's black bill with yellow spot in front of the eye. The larger Mute Swan (Cygnus olor), with its orange bill and black "basal knob," was introduced to North America by early settlers as a decorative species. The large and beautiful Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) formerly wintered on the Chesapeake Bay, but is now rarely found outside of the West. Attempts are currently underway to reintroduce the Trumpeter Swan in the East, but populations have yet to become self-sustaining. Note that hybrid Trumpeter-Tundra Swans ("Trumpling Swans") have been released in the East, and that they occasionally turn up at unexpected locations.