While hunting snow geese I saw the strangest of swans

[scruffy]

For the last four seasons I have done a bit of snow goose hunting in the spring. I went out yesterday south of Lethbridge to see if they had arrived.

Quite a few were in the area with still lots of snow in the fields and those fields were quite muddy for walking in. It is raining hard outside my home this morning so I doubt if they are any better today.

There is lots of standing water in those fields and countless ducks and geese and swans. There are swans everywhere.

One little slough had four or five of the snowy white tundra swans ... and about twenty yards from them was another swan - but this bird was totally brown ...

I have never ever seen a brown swan before. Lots of gray juvenile ones, of course.

Even hunting at Freeze Out Lake in Montana during the peak of migration (7,000 one day according to their 24 hour messaging) have I ever seen such a sight.

Amazing. I took a photo of this bird about a hundred yards away with my cell phone and when I enlarge it a person can see it well enough (just barely) to see that it is a brown swan.

There are lots of waterfowl experts on this forum... any comments or experiences with such a bird??

Thanks..

[Strix]

Can you post the photo? There were eleven brown snow geese seen at Freezeout Lake on Saturday. The breast, belly, neck and head were a rich brown. There was speculation that the geese spent some time over the winter in a "nasty" pond in California. Could be the same with your swan.

[trapperdodge]

cygnet

[Andrew_Arsenault]

We saw two snows with a completely copper coloured underside the other day.

[scruffy]

The brown was certainly rich in color. If it was from a pond in California (that is a good guess) someone should go to jail for that....

The bird was certainly not a juvenile according to the color.

If anyone wants to see my cell phone photo and blow it up to get a bit of a look - just pm me an e mail or text number and I will send a couple of photos ..

Good hunting !