This is a female Trumpeter Swan. You can tell by the colour of her bill. As you can see, it is black.
Mute Swans have orange bills as you can see in the photo (below). (I took this photo in the early Spring of 2017. On this day the Mute Swans built a nest to lay some eggs. They chose a small island directly across from our back-yard, to do this.)
There are other distinguishing factors (as well) that help you to tell the difference between Trumpeters and Mutes. Trumpeters are heavier. In fact, Trumpeter swans are the heaviest bird native to North America and can weigh upwards of 25+ pounds or 10+ kilograms. Trumpeters are also very shy and generally like to call uninhabited bodies of fresh water, their home. Mutes are more social and will generally build their nests in more populated areas. Mutes don't seem to be bothered by people very much.
Interestingly enough, I took this photo of a Mother Trumpeter swan and her two offspring in almost the exact same geographical location as the Mute, but about 8 months apart. When baby swans are hatched in the Spring, they are called signets. They are a ball of grey downy fluff and then over the summer they grow into full-size swans. They keep their grey feathers and these feathers eventually turn white. This process (feathers turning from grey to white) can take a full year.
Trumpeter swans have a very graceful neck and more of an elegant smooth slope to their bills.
The Trumpeter swan's diet is almost entirely aquatic plants. They are currently foraging and feeding.
They will feed in an area and once it's depleted, they simply move on.
I took all these photos with my Nikon S7000.
I welcome your comments and I invite you to follow me on my journey....more often than not, we'll be just floating along on a lazy river. ;)
~ Rebecca Ryan
