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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Outdoors blog

More swans sighted, but big freeze coming

WILDLIFE WATCHING -- Another report on tundra swans in the region, this one coming from Warren Current in the Colville area:

"Yesterday afternoon I saw seven tundra swans along the shoreline of Lake Roosevelt just south of Colville Flats (Highway 25).  Other species in the vicinity included Canada geese, mallard, northern pintail, American wigeon, bufflehead adn common goldeneye."

The level of Lake Roosevelt has gone down to 1270 feet which has exposed additional sand islands and more shoreline in that area, which seems attractive to waterfowl,he said.

But while the recent thaw and mild weather has lured the birds into this portion of their northern migration, the arctic cold coming this week will hold them up and maybe move them around.

Large numbers of tundra swans are in the Cougar Bay area of Lake Coeur d'Alene, and they're showing at the Calispell Lake area, where ice-up may force them out closer tot he Pend Oreille River, as well as at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge.



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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