BIRDS OF NANTUCKET
WHISTLING ON THE TUNDRA
by Kenneth Turner Blackshaw
This is another one of those 'name-change' birds. Not like 'Orson' and 'Tweety' two weeks ago. No, this bird's name change came as a result of genetic research. Until 1983 this bird was two different species. We're talking about big white swans. Our North American species was called the Whistling Swan and its counterpart in Eurasia was the Bewick's Swan.

Tundra Swan

Then the birding gurus in the sky figured out these two swans were genetically the same, threw out both the names and came up with a new one, the Tundra Swan. It's still hard for me not to think 'Whistling,' sort of like trying to remember 'Long-tailed Duck' instead of 'Old-Squaw.'

The scientific name for the Tundra Swan is Cygnus columbianus, so-named because the first specimen came from the great narrows of the Columbia River, found by Lewis and Clark on their Corps of Discovery mission in 1804 to 1806. The specimen traveled back to George Ord at the American Philosophical Association Museum in Philadelphia, one of numerous animals and plants discovered during this wonderful expedition, the brainchild of Thomas Jefferson. The genus name for swans, Cygnus, has shifted back and forth from that name to Olor over the years. Both words mean swan in Latin but Cygnus originates in Greek. Olor was the name used in the writings of Pliny the Younger. I'm not sure why our ornithological mavens keep changing their minds.

Many of you are probably thinking, "I've seen these swans out at Long Pond, Hummock Pond, or Miacomet Pond." You are partly right. You've seen swans out there but, alas, they are not Tundra Swans. The more common swans on our island are Mute Swans, the city park variety, and are actually alien invaders, planted in this country by people who missed them from Europe.

Mute Swans look different from Tundras in that they hold their neck in an 'S' shape and keep their bill pointed downward. They also have a large black knob at the top of their bill. Our native Tundra Swans keep their neck straighter and the beak normally is kept horizontal except when feeding. Their knobless beaks are black and often you can see a yellow spot between beak and eye. Tundras are also our smallest swans.

So a Nantucket swan is usually a Mute Swan but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be scanning them for Tundras although they seldom mix. The last Nantucket Tundra I saw was a few winters ago when we spotted one in Long Pond near the Massasoit Bridge. Initially it was swimming but then it took off and made a dramatic pass over the heads of a very appreciative group of our Sunday morning birdwatchers.

When I was learning my birds, Griscom and Folger's "The Birds of Nantucket" gave me little hope of finding a swan of any sort. Mute Swans were just spreading in from Long Island and the comment in the book about Tundras (actually Whistlings then) said, "No record in 40 years." Tundra Swans have recovered fairly well and their population is estimated at 140,000 worldwide. Thousands of them spend the winter on Chesapeake Bay but they are still rare here.

'Tundra' is quite a good name for them since that's where they all go to nest. We're talking about way far north to the point where the trees start to disappear. I was fortunate enough to be up that far last June visiting Churchill, Manitoba, on something called a 'Learning Vacation.' There I saw several of these startling birds, stunningly white against the sparkling blue water of the Arctic pool where they would build their nests.

Swan nests are big bulky affairs. They heap vegetation together on the shore and scoop a depression in the middle where they lay their four or five eggs. The eggs are often buried in the middle of this rubble and the natives learn to carry a long stick to dig into every pile they find, looking for swan eggs.

Tundras incubate their eggs for over a month and the downy young are quickly mobile. The parents get them into the water for safety from foxes and other predators. Then both young and old go through a flightless period since like most waterfowl, Tundra Swans molt all their flight feathers at once.

The vast majority of North American Tundra Swans head south through central Canada over the Great Lakes into our mid-Atlantic tidal areas. On Nantucket we hope to see a few from the beginning of October through the end of April.

A swan of any sort is a marvelous thing to experience, particularly when flying low overhead. The sound as the air rushes through their huge wing feathers is haunting as they wing swiftly past. Most often they'll be Mute Swans but perhaps you'll be lucky

enough to have a Tundra Swan whistle past. I

George C. West creates illustrations for these articles. If you enjoy 'social' birding, join the Nantucket Bird Club at 8 a.m. Sundays in front of Nantucket High School for a two to three hour birding trip. Call 228-1693 for more information. To hear about rare birds, or to leave a bird report call the Massachusetts Audubon hot line at 1-781-259-8805. Ask Ken a question at: kenandcindy1@comcast.net.