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Distinguishing swans from snow geese is black and white

Snow geese take flight over a farmer's field inthe Skagit Valley, where thousands of the wintering birds can cause serious damage to crops. (File Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Snow geese take flight over a farmer's field inthe Skagit Valley, where thousands of the wintering birds can cause serious damage to crops. (File Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

WILDLIFE WATCHING -- Should a hunter ever be excused for killing a trumpeter swan he misidentified as a snow goose?

Probably not.

Here are three notable reasons from Rich Myhre of the Everett Herald:

  1. Because of their white color, trumpeter swans look a little bit like snow geese. But trumpeter swans are entirely white, while snow geese have black wing tips.
  2. Trumpeter swans measure 6-8 feet from wing tip to wing tip, while snow geese measure only about 3 feet.
  3. Most important, snow geese can be hunted during waterfowl season, but there is never a legal time to shoot trumpeter swans.

For additional information about identifying swans, go to www.trumpeterswansociety.org.

Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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