Drewesque Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 I want to submit this to eBird, but according to my Sibley's, and according to a warning on eBird, this would be a rarity in East Texas during any time of year, but I saw a pair swimming about in a local lake. I know there are some issues surrounding domesticated breeds of ducks and geese and was wondering if there is anything similar for the Mute Swan. Am I way off? Or on to something? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 (edited) Big black knob at the base of the orange bill. Looks good to me! Could be domesticated birds. Edited February 9, 2019 by Charlie Spencer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millipede Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Go ahead and report it to eBird. it will get flagged for review and the person that reviews may or may not contact you. With pictures they wont. BUT... there's only some areas where this bird is countable. eBird will treat it as a domestic and it wont "count" but personally I think it's good to report stuff as it helps them know what the populations might be like. There are lakes and ponds all over the country where people have turned these things loose... It's neat in a way but, eh... I'm going to start rambling if I'm not careful. The eBird reviewer for Arkansas(one person for the whole state) is active in the birding community here and I end up emailing him with questions from time to time. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerri Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 I've seen an Ad on craigslist where you can buy several types of swans. No idea if it's legal or not. If it is a wild swan it would be able to fly if healthy, where as the ones that are domesticated they normally pinion so they can't fly. They can thousands of dollars so ppl make sure they don't buy them to only have them fly away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianne Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 Hello to the person with the mute swan. We have a single swan in our lake that showed up about a month ago. My neighbor said that they dont survive without a mate so we are looking for another to add to the lake. Please let me know if you are looking to relocate him. Dvorheier@gmail.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 (edited) Welcome to Whatbird! Your well-intentioned neighbor is mistaken. No birds require a mate to live. The females of some species are dependent on a male to bring food during the nesting season. Should the male die during that time, the female will suffer due to the loss of her food source but not strictly due to not having a mate. She'll eventually abandon the nest to seek food on her own. Your swan will be just fine, although it may eventually move on to seek a mate, or other food, or a place it likes better. Edited September 22, 2019 by Charlie Spencer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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