Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus)

Abundance: Very Uncommon (at least 14 records from 8 counties, 4 in Kentucky and 4 in Tennessee).

Status: Transient during late fall (3 records) and early to mid-winter (11 records); photograph (see link below).

Regional High Count: 2 (several records below).

Information on Records: 

30 December 1970 (2--age unspecified) Barren County, Kentucky (fide Russell Starr; KW 47: 12, 14), CBC record.

2-11 January 1991 (1--immature) Pulaski County, Kentucky (Jackie B. Elmore, Sr.; Stamm and Monroe 1991b).

6-7 December 1991 (2--adults) Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman photo, BHS et al.; Stedman 1992; Stedman 1993), photo.

18-19 December 1991 (2--adults) c. 5 km north of Sparta on Rt. 111, White County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; also reported a few days earlier by Thomas Roberts; Stedman 1992), probably the same swans as noted in the preceding record.

10-11 January 1999 (1--juvenile) near Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Linda McClendon, Roseanna M. Denton photo and unpubl. data), photo

7 November 1999 (1--flyover) Alpine, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton, Steve Denton).

15 November 1999 (2--adults) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer; Busroe 2000a).

27 November 1999 (flock heard) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer unpubl. data).

11 December 1999 (1--immature) Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Neil Dziepak photo; Casteel 2000a), photo.

27 December 2004 (2 immatures) Cooley's Pond, Wayne County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo, Connie S. Neeley, Stephen J. Stedman; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2005b), photo; CBC record.

12 January 2006 (1--immature) Dale Hollow Lake, Pickett County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Craig Norris, Ben Gore unpubl. data).

7 December 2006 (1--immature) Twin Lakes, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo and unpubl. data).

15 February 2007 (1--immature) Wolf Creek Dam, Russell County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton unpubl. data).

25 February/8 February 2009 (1--immature) Mason Grissom Rd./Rt. 288 c. 0.5 km south of intersection with Rayburn-Walling Rd., Warren County, Tennessee (N. P. "Mac" McWhirter/Edmund K. LeGrand, Stephen J. Stedman).

Out-of-Season Records: see Remarks (below).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Fall: 7 November 1999 (1 flyover; Pulaski County, Kentucky; Roseanna M. Denton, Steve Denton), but see also Remarks (below).

    Late Spring: 15 February 2007 (1 immature; Russell County, Kentucky; Roseanna M. Denton), but see also Remarks (below).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Habitat: Ponds and lakes of all sizes, generally with shallow areas.

Remarks: This swan was reported without date or specific location from Warren County, Tennessee, by C. Douglas Malone (pers. com).

    Six large white waterfowl observed at Cedar Hill Dock, Lake Cumberland, 29 September 1929 (Russell Starr; Starr 1955) may have pertained to this species, but the date of the sighting certainly argues otherwise.  A Tundra Swan observed 28- 29 August 1982 near Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky (Russell Starr; Stamm 1983a) was a remarkably early fall migrant if accurately identified.  A swan sp. observed 24 January 2001-February 2001 on Dale Hollow Lake, Clay County, Tennessee (Danny Stone fide Terry M. Campbell) probably belonged to this species; if so, its presence would have extended the Regional period of occurrence for Tundra Swan.  The only spring record Regionally, if correct, involved 2-4 Tundra Swans reported at a small wooded pond in Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee, 18 March and 2 April 1990 (Jospeh W. Wahl; Stedman 1993).  All of these records are treated as hypothetical here.

    Two huge adult swans found 8 January 2008 at General Burnside Island State Park, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo) possessed highly unusual bill color; the latest thinking on their identity points toward their being hybrid Mute X Trumpeter Swans; two swans believed to be the same individuals were found near London, Kentucky, a week or so after the Burnside sighting; these swans were quite tame and were apparently returning to the London site for the second winter.

Counties with Observations (boldfaced):

To see a map (Figure 1) displaying the data in the table above, click on the boldfaced word in this sentence.

Literature Cited