collared swanS

[DLM]

Seen a couple of tundra swans with blue collars and numbers, any idea what outtfit would want to know about them ?

[Cariboo]

The Canadian Wildlife Service is heavily into banding swans. Yours with the blue neck bands are Tundra - Whistling - Swans. These are the most common type in BC but they will mix in at times with Trumpeter swans.

Here is some info from the CWS website:

http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/nwrc-cnr...n&n=725379F9-1

Reporting Banded Birds

Reporting Swan Collars

Both Trumpeter and Tundra Swans are widely collared in North America, while the introduced Mute Swan is rarely marked. Swan collars have unique colour and code combinations allowing researchers to identify individuals. Collars are large enough that they can be easily read from a distance with binoculars or a telescope.


Trumpeter Swans have green, red or yellow collars with 3 character combinations of two numbers and one letter. Trumpeter swans collared before 1993 may have a 4 character combination.

Tundra Swans have gray, black or blue collars with 3 or 4 character combinations.

Mute Swans have white collars with 4 character combinations with 2 letters followed by 2 numbers.

When recording information from a collared swan, the more information that you can provide, the more likely the individual bird can be identified or marking project determined.

Important information to record:

Collar colour, code, code colour, and orientation of codes on the collar
Date the bird was observed
Exact location the bird was observed
Species age and sex of the bird if known
Your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address
Report your observations by calling the Bird Banding Office toll-free 1-800-327-2263 (1-800-327-BAND), by sending an e-mail message to the Bird Banding Office, or by writing a letter to:

Bird Banding Office
National Wildlife Research Centre
Canadian Wildlife Service
Ottawa, Canada K1A 0H3

You will receive a certificate of appreciation telling you where and when the bird was collared, its age, whether it was male or female, and who banded it. We will tell the researcher where and when the bird was observed and its condition.

[DLM]

Thank you
DLM