I headed up to Willow Lake (near Raphine VA, exit 205 I-81) at noon today to
look for the swans and scoter that had been reported today. The swans showed
up today and were easy to spot. The WWSC was first reported by Bob Epperson on
Tuesday. The WWSC was seen on Wednesday and today. The scoter took a few
minutes to find because it was diving. Both the swans and scoters were on the
far side of the lake. The two swans, an adult female (I think based on my
knowledge of Mute Swans - I studied them for my MS) and a juvenile who is
molting out of its gray plumage. These two represent the 3rd and 4th Mute
Swans seen in the county. Previously, 2 individuals were seen in January of
2012 at Willow Lake. The White-winged Scoter is the 3rd individual recorded in
the county. In Feb and Mar of 2014, one WWSC stayed at Willow lake for several
weeks. A second individual showed up during that time, but only stayed for a
few days. I've posted phots of both the Mute Swans and White-winged Scoter.
The scoter was pretty far away, so the photos are documentation of the bird.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/vmibiology/
Dick Rowe
VMI Biology Dept.
