Another rare one

[Otto1]

What time of year in BC?

No guesses on the species of the two above photos? they are both different.

Here is some captures of sick birds from a few seasons ago. the Washington Waterfowl Association/ Whatcom chapter has volunteered thousands of man hours helping the WDFW find the lead sources.
We either capture live ones and euthanize or collect dead swans from Nov. thru March.







Here is what a bunch of dead ones look like. They are getting ready and thawing out the birds preparing them for necropsies.



this photo is of the Biologist taking a blood sample after the healthy bird has been net cannon captured and fitted with a radio collar for tracking



and the release,

[jackelope]

cool pics otto..thanks for sharing.
the wife and i along with the other thousand head up there every year to take pics when they are around

[boneaddict]

Cool pics!   I assume the yellow beaked fellar was a tundra swan and the other was a trumpeter.  You don't realize how big they are until you have one glide over your head, or holding them down like in that picture.

September.

[Alchase]

Otto1, What caused them to be sick? I do not think I have seen that many swans in one place before?

[Otto1]

allchase,, they have been dying from ingesting lead shot. It can take only 2-3 pellets and it will slowly kill one of those big birds. Some of the birds have well over a hundred of them in their gizzard and esophagus. They cannot pass them as they are heavy and do not break down unlike your typical grit waterfowl use to grind their food up. so that lead just sits their in the bottom and poisons their system. Eventually it will shut down all their vital organs and they die. Once they get it the are not re-habable so they get euthanized ASAP.

Bone-  you are getting a little closer by stating tundra but on the tundra their yellow blotch on the beak is usually no larger than your thumbnail.

The two yellow beaked birds above are two separate species... Any guesses a google search should yield the answer.

[Otto1]

allright........... the top one is called a whooper swan and the second one is a bewicks swan.

both of these shots were taken in Whatcom county