swans

[upwind]

I seen  allot of swans on fir island today so maybe we Will get some more ducks  and geese from up north .I know when i lived in Alaska seemed like swan were last to leave.

[Skyhigh]

I seen  allot of swans on fir island today so maybe we Will get some more ducks  and geese from up north .I know when i lived in Alaska seemed like swan were last to leave.

are you sure they were swans? as I was on the Island all day and never saw a single swan and I was looking for them..Did see 6 tundras south of Mt. Vernon

[Stilly bay]

I saw about 15 between stanwood and Mt vernon today. I also spotted some chilling along the beach near the camano island state park. it took a bit of gawking and some binoculars to finally figure out exactly what they were.

[jordano]

I've seen some just south of headquarters... some also on fir island...

[h2ofowlr]

They are starting to hit the fields.  They started showing up in good numbers last week.

[Smalma]

Skyhigh -
Nice to visit with you yesterday - I was going to mention seeing the swans yesterday but somehow forgot.

Yesterday (11/1) I saw approx. 75 swans on Fir Island.  A couple of the flocks "buzzed" my decoy spread including one bunch of a dozen that flew 15 feet over my head.  That bunch included one neck collared adult bird (brown collar).  The bunch that had the collar were tundras; of the birds "talking" yesterday it seemed that most were tundras.

My sense is that they are just starting to arrive in the area and there should be lots of them in another 10 days.  Yesterday the birds didn't leave the bay until mid-morning and didn't seem to have desitnation in mind as they flew more or less randomly about the island.

I always look forward to the watching the swans and love the sound of their "creaky" wings as they fly by - they sound like how my joints feel.

Curt

[Dustin07]

yeah swans are definitely here. I was a good 10+ miles south of Fir on Saturday and saw swans.

[Jhaze1812]

Snow geese over swans.... Damnit. Couldnt shoot.

[Dustin07]

Snow geese over swans.... Damnit. Couldnt shoot.

lol yeah that was interesting. Now imagine if the Ross's WERE protected. 

[jordano]

Snow geese over swans.... Damnit. Couldnt shoot.

lol yeah that was interesting. Now imagine if the Ross's WERE protected. 

that was weird seeing both flying together... dare ya to shoot 

[h2ofowlr]

Don't worry, it will happen.  We see it happen every year.  Someone will down a swan.  They need to pull those guys snow goose cards that shoot at them.

[Dustin07]

last year I saw two groups of hunters shoot at swans right over the top of them. They were both lucky in that they appeared to miss. one was right on the island too.

[jordano]

last year I saw two groups of hunters shoot at swans right over the top of them. They were both lucky in that they appeared to miss. one was right on the island too.

 

[CP]

Last year someone downed one at Cherry Valley, the carcass laid in the field for several days until the coyotes ate it. 

[WDFW-SUX]

They shoot swans in Nevada....Why? I dont know.

[jordano]

They shoot swans in Nevada....Why? I dont know.

in the mid west they have seasons for swans and sand hill cranes.... if the swans get to large numbers why not be able to have a small season on them like the brant season? they do 5 times as much damage to crops than the snow geese do.... it should be out of benefit to the farmers so they do not destroy their crops... especially if it was like last year where it seemed like there were more swans around than snow geese... if the numbers reach a certain population open a select day season with a limit of 2 in January. In skagit and snohomish counties... why not!?

[ctwiggs1]

They shoot swans in Nevada....Why? I dont know.

in the mid west they have seasons for swans and sand hill cranes.... if the swans get to large numbers why not be able to have a small season on them like the brant season? they do 5 times as much damage to crops than the snow geese do.... it should be out of benefit to the farmers so they do not destroy their crops... especially if it was like last year where it seemed like there were more swans around than snow geese... if the numbers reach a certain population open a select day season with a limit of 2 in January. In skagit and snohomish counties... why not!?

I always thought they should sell a couple of tags.  If they charge the  $5 or so like they do for big game lotto, I bet the state would make 10-15k right there on people putting in for swan tags.  They could put half the income into swan habitat and the other half into a downpayment for a new desk for Gregoire. 

[jordano]

They shoot swans in Nevada....Why? I dont know.

in the mid west they have seasons for swans and sand hill cranes.... if the swans get to large numbers why not be able to have a small season on them like the brant season? they do 5 times as much damage to crops than the snow geese do.... it should be out of benefit to the farmers so they do not destroy their crops... especially if it was like last year where it seemed like there were more swans around than snow geese... if the numbers reach a certain population open a select day season with a limit of 2 in January. In skagit and snohomish counties... why not!?

I always thought they should sell a couple of tags.  If they charge the  $5 or so like they do for big game lotto, I bet the state would make 10-15k right there on people putting in for swan tags.  They could put half the income into swan habitat and the other half into a downpayment for a new desk for Gregoire. 

there is another great idea! anyone want to get together as a site and take these ideas to U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife?? 

[Special T]

I like to yell really loud when they miss, they almost always do, "Hey Dumb $hit those are swans" They don't shoot too much after that... 

[jordano]

I like to yell really loud when they miss, they almost always do, "Hey Dumb $hit those are swans" They don't shoot too much after that... 

thats good right there! 

[h2ofowlr]

I put in for a tag in North Carolina and Salt Lake.  I will get drawn one of these days.  There are several states that allow swan hunting by permit.

[bak2huntn]

Go to south dakota and shoot cranes and swans . My dad shots them but ma says they are to sweet get me a goose!

[Skyhigh]

in the mid west they have seasons for swans and sand hill cranes.... if the swans get to large numbers why not be able to have a small season on them like the brant season? they do 5 times as much damage to crops than the snow geese do.... it should be out of benefit to the farmers so they do not destroy their crops... especially if it was like last year where it seemed like there were more swans around than snow geese... if the numbers reach a certain population open a select day season with a limit of 2 in January. In skagit and snohomish counties... why not!?
[/quote]

can you qualify that damage statement? really five times?   The majority of swans I see out in the fields are in either corn stubble or potato fields,what kind of crop damage occurs in these harvested fields? Later in the spring they move to green fields, this would be the time where some damage may occur but minimal..
 
The wintering population of swans is in the 12-15k  range .....Snowgeese range close to 100k and are specific mostly to winter wheat and rye fields...So I would really like to know how you come up with 5 times more damage..

[Skyhigh]

for the record, the states that do have a swan season do not have the amount of trumpetor swans as we do in this state...The swans hunted in other states are for tundra swans..Once incidental trumpetor harvest is met the season is closed...Here, our season would be closed minutes after it opened as the dumb ass jackwipes would shoot the first big white bird they saw..

If someone wants to get behind a movement to open a swan season in Washington get involved with the WWA as they have some individuals pushing to get a tundra season in the future.

[seth30]

I was just at Fir Island today, saw a ton of swans, and on my depart saw thousands of geese in the fields. Not sure if you could hunt them in the fields I saw them in.  They were sure not the ones I saw the decoys in.

[boneaddict]

Wow, I guess I found my limit on something.  I couldn't shoot a swan, and I can harvest just about anything.  Not passing judgement by anymeans, just recognizing I have a limit. 

[seth30]

When I was stationed in Misawa Japan, there was a local area called swan lake.  When the birds were down there you could buy bags of bread for a couple hundred yen.  I found out how mean and nasty those birds can be first hand.  I though geese could bite, but boy those swans take it to a whole new level.

[upwind]

When i lived in Fallon Nevada we would put in every year and get swan tags it was a easy hunt used floating white goose decoys and they would just come on in good eats just make sure you shoot a young grey one tasted allot better.When i say easy that was in the 70s dint know how it is now?