Whoopee....a Whooper!

 In the last few days, a Whooper Swan has been seen in the Rondeau Bay/Erieau area. It is the first time one has ever been seen in Rondeau checklist area, or even in Chatham-Kent as far as I know. However why it did get a bit of attention with local birders, birders from afar did not pay it much attention. The reason? It is likely an escapee from someone's waterfowl collection.

The Whooper Swan is a very large swan, native primarily to northern Europe and Asia. While there are occasionally legitimately wild records of birds in western North America, the fact that it is a sometimes popular swan for captive waterfowl enthusiasts to have in their collections, sometimes birds escape captivity and can show up in the area where they escaped from.

I am not aware first hand of who in the region has a few captive waterfowl, but I do know there are some, and there have been a few records of this species in wild areas across southern Ontario in the past. All have been treated as escapees. (Update: Mystery solved.....apparently a local fun park with various waterfowl recently had three of their Whoopers get spooked, and one headed in the direction where this bird showed up.)

Here is a size comparison with a Canada Goose, which looks fairly small beside it.

There is no question that a Whooper is an impressive bird, not only for its size. The all-white bird along with its massive mostly yellow bill, accented with a nice bit of black, makes it really stand out. A Bewick's swan, which is the European version of a Tundra Swan, also has a fair bit of yellow on its bill, but nowhere near as much or in the same configuration as a Whooper has.

The bird can obviously fly, since it has been seen in several areas in the vicinity of Erieau along the shoreline of Rondeau Bay, as well as a road-side pond north of Erieau where I got these photos. I am sure the bird did not leave one favourable body of water and walk across fields to get to this much smaller pond. Most owners of captive waterfowl will clip a birds wings, so they are unable to fly. There were no wing tags or leg bands either.

Regardless of its origin, it is nice to see it especially at this time of year when birds are not as abundant as they (hopefully!) will be in a few weeks time.

Just for a general comparison, here are a couple of photos of another exotic swan that has become quite abundant in the wild. It is the Mute Swan which is not native to North America but was released in the wild many decades ago due to its popularity in Europe. It is about the same size, but has a quite different and distinctive bill.

Smaller than both of the preceding species is our native Tundra Swan. It will migrate through southern Ontario by the thousands, and as is often the case, may spend the winter here if there is enough open water.

 A larger, native swan that is about the same size as the Mute is Trumpeter Swan, at one time totally eliminated from southern Ontario but re-established in south central Ontario a few decades ago. It is gradually becoming a bit more regular in its former Ontario range.

Moving on from swans, I have noted a few other things in my travels. For example another white species of waterfowl, is Snow Goose. There were several at the St. Clair National Wildlife Area. I think they have been in the region all winter, but aren't always seen.

They are usually mixed in with the Canada Goose population, and this next photo includes a blue phase Snow Goose, seen at the middle back.

Sticking with a bit of a white theme, Snowy Owls have been mostly noticeable by their absence this year, at least compared to last year. I hadn't seen one since December, but finally saw one the other day. It was on a pile of rubble, which had lots of grasses to partially hide it from a distance.

I managed to maneuver the vehicle slowly to where I could get a relatively clear photo of the bird.

Not far away from the Snowy, I glanced at a Wood Duck box along another road, and saw this Eastern Screech Owl peering out. I have checked this box a few times before, but never seen it occupied until this time.

If you would like to subscribe, or unsubscribe, to Nature Nuggets, send an email to: prairietramper@gmail.com