Trumpeter Swan L55: A rare visitor
8/23/15
By David Brown
Users of the Williamsport river walk may have recently noticed a huge white bird with yellow wing tags. This bird is a trumpeter swan. The trumpeter swan is North America's largest species of waterfowl with a wingspan rivaling that of the bald eagle at around six and a half feet. Many of the trumpeter swans that are found in PA come from a reintroduction program in Ontario. The trumpeter swan was extirpated in eastern North America due to hunting and habitat loss and the program was started to return the trumpeter swan to its former range. To help track individual swans, large yellow tags with a three-digit code are attached to both wings. The swan in Williamsport has wing tags L55. I was able to get information about this bird from someone involved in the program. It is a male that was hatched in the summer of 2012 at Gloucester Pool in Ontario. His parents were swans 100 and L88.
Trumpeter Swan L55
Using websites such as eBird, we can track reports of this individual bird. It was reported at Cheat Lake near Morgantown, WV on Dec. 17-18, 2013. Then it was reported on the Potomac River near Petersburg, WV on Jan. 19, 2014. The next sighting was on the Potomac River near Cumberland, MD in June 2014 and again from Nov. 2014 through April 2015. Locally it was first seen near Lock Haven in May 2015 and again on August 7th. At that point we were hoping it would head towards Williamsport and sure enough, on the morning of August 9th Maddi Dunlap spotted it from the Maynard Street bridge in Williamsport. It has remained in the area of the Williamsport dam as of August 15th.
The trumpeter swan is a rare bird to see in PA but sightings are increasing. This is only the second record of the species in Lycoming County. The first was trumpeter swan M05 which was found on the river near the Muncy boat launch from August to October 2014.
Most swans that are seen in the county are the similar but smaller tundra swan, which are primarily seen during migration in March. The third species of swan that is possible in the area is the mute swan. This is the classic swan with orange bill and black face mask. Mute swans are non-native but have developed feral populations in surrounding states.
Any time a bird has a band or tag that can be read it is helpful to report it. The USGS has a website to easily submit the info and you will often be contacted with any known information about the bird. The website is http://www.reportband.gov . If you need help reporting a bird you can contact me directly and we always appreciate sightings and photos at the Lycoming Audubon Society Facebook group.
The trumpeter swan and a rare shorebird called a willet that was found on Mill Street in Montoursville on August 14th are the first two rarities of fall migration this year. Over the next few months the birding will be great as we hit the peak of fall migration so get out and see what you can find.
