On February 8 there was a post on the Greenville County Bird Club listserve that a Tundra Swan was spotted on a small lake along Berry Road in Boiling Springs, Spartanburg County in South Carolina. I quickly went to my SC state list and confirmed that I didn’t need Tundra Swan for my list, so there was no need to chase after it.
I didn’t think much more about the Swan, even though it
continued to be reported. But then I
noticed one birder raised the question about whether it could be a Trumpeter
Swan instead, especially based on the lack of yellow lores. I checked out several of the photos posted
on-line showing the birds’ cheek, and it looked like a Tundra to me based on a
curved edge to the black bill on the cheek, and the black eye being isolated
from the black bill. In fact, those
features make it a stereotypical Tundra Swan.
These features are evident in this photo I took of a Tundra
(on the left) and a Trumpeter (on the right) in southwestern Michigan in
November 2025. The Tundra has the curved
edge to the side of the bill against the white cheek, with the isolated eye. Whereas the Trumpeter has the straight edge
of the bill which includes the eye. It
also helps that the larger size of the Trumpeter is obvious in this photo.
Not to mention, not all Tundras have yellow lores. Still no need to chase.
That is until another photo was posted that showed the white
feathering forming a sharp V at the top of the black bill, which is very much
Trumpeter-like. Plus, it was a young
bird retaining some darker plumage, which is also like a Trumpeter which molts
later than Tundras. Given these somewhat
contradictory field marks, some birders even suggested it might be a
hybrid. But rather than waiting for the ID
to be confirmed, taking the risk that the bird might leave first, I decided it
was now time to chase it, and let the ID be confirmed later.
I headed out early in the morning on the 11th hoping I hadn’t
waited too long. I arrived at sunrise at
the small pond, driving slowly down Berry Road but didn’t see the Swan on the
pond. I was getting worried. I turned around for another pass and
thankfully there it was near the far east end of the lake. The white dot in the distance in the middle
of this picture is the Swan beyond Berry Road.
My friend Keith Viglietta submitted photos of the Swan to the Report a Swan Citizen Science Project at the Trumpeter Swan Society for ID confirmation. The response from the Trumpeter Swan Society’s expert, Dr. Ken Abraham, was as follows:
“I think it’s a Trumpeter. Straight, heavy bill. The narrowness of the culmen process leading
to the eye is more Tundra-like, but not out of scope for Trumpeter. Agree that it’s not an adult. Coloring of the bill is black on most photos,
but one or two look like there might be some residual paleness of the juvenile
bill.”
So Trumpeter Swan it is (I guess). An apparent third SC state record. And statebird number 313 for my SC list.
My statebird map for Trumpeter Swan is copied in below. The light blue states are those where I’ve
seen this species in its regular range, which now includes a major re-introduction
program. The cross-hatched states are
those where I’ve yet to see it within its range. And the 10 dark blue states are those where I’ve
seen Trumpeter Swan as a rarity, now including SC.
