October 31, 2017
Pacific Northwest
Right now as I’m typing this I’m hearing the mellow tooting of Trumpeter Swans. Melodic and haunting, quite unlike the squawky tones of Canada Geese. And it’s still October! The swans are early this year.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the phenological patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream, visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on Follow.
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Mr O first reported a long-necked white blob on the distant far side of Otto’s marsh on his way to work on the 26th. It was still there the next day. I assumed it was one of the white domestic geese some neighboring folks have, but Mr O leaned toward swan. I gave him my camera to take the next day. Sure enough, with a 300mm zoom:
Not for nothing, Mr O is the designated spotter of our family. :)
Next day, nothing, but the day after — more swans!
As cool as that is, the biggest thrill for me is hearing and seeing them from my house. There’s a wetland across the road, which I can’t see except from out on the road, but it’s close enough I can hear swans flying in, and chatting amongst themselves as they float there. Late that same afternoon, Monday the 30th, I heard them arriving and rushed outside to see. Five and then four more gliding in before going out of sight behind the trees.
How early? FOS at Rosalie marsh:
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Date: |
# swans: |
2017 |
Oct 30 |
9 |
2016 |
Nov 18 |
13 |
2015 |
Nov 4 |
10 |
2014 |
Nov 12 |
13 |
My Otto's marsh data is much more sparse, since I have to drive 8 miles over there. All I have so far for FOS is:
2017: October 26 (1 bird)
2016: November 18 (3 birds)
Checking regional eBird reports, nobody else in my county has observed any yet. However over on the Skagit River Delta, where the biggest concentration in Washington spends the winter, there are 7 reports. Also 1 report from Whidbey Island, 4 on the northeast shore of the Olympic Peninsula, and others farther away.
So however you slice it, there’s no question the swans are earlier than usual this fall.
Our Washington swans, the Pacific Coast Population, breed in Alaska, depart when lakes and wetlands begin to freeze over and fly down along coastal BC. Did freezing weather start early this fall in Alaska? Or?
That’s the recent phenology news for me. Now over to you —
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What have you seen recently in your natural neighborhood?
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