Whooper swan at Drift - note beak! 17Mar10
trepolpen

Whooper swan at Drift - note beak! 17Mar10

Note the extensive triangle of yellow down the bill. This swan is quite uncommon, forming winter flocks at favoured water and grassland locations. It had made friends with all the mute swans on the Drift Reservoir and was swimming quite at ease among them. It's the first of its kind that I have ever seen.
This isn't an ordinary swan, folks, it's a whooper! It's rare in these parts (see notes above) so click on it to see its beak full screen!
 
The whooper swan is bigger than a Bewick's swan. It is mainly a winter visitor to England from Iceland, although a couple of pairs are known to nest in northern England. Very rare to see in Cornwall, it is not even listed as an area to spot this bird on RSPB mapping. It is endangered and has amber list species status.
 
I knew I had never seen one before but its beak was really distinctive among all the mute swans.
 

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PENWITH FAUNA - DOMESTIC & WILD
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