In late January, a trumpeter swan was spotted in a marsh along the banks of the Brandywine Creek here in Chadds Ford, less than a mile from our office. 

The swan, which only stuck around for a day or two, was wing-tagged with the number K46.  [Similar to bands put on the legs of birds, plastic wing tags are often used on larger species of birds for quick identification.  Each tag has a unique letter and number combination so that the bird can be individually identified.]

Image

K46 has returned!  We spotted her yesterday afternoon, amongst a pair of mergansers and numerous Canada geese, on the Brandywine just north of Route 1.  We were able to snap one quick photo before she flushed and flew upstream and out of sight.  The photo is poor quality, but you can see the yellow wing tags if you look closely.  (You'll just have to take our word for it on the K46 designation!)

K46 was reported when she was first spotted in January.  The report on her from the USGS Bird Banding Lab is as follows:

This is a female Trumpeter Swan that was banded on March 4, 2013, and was hatched in 2012 or earlier. This means that she is a wild bird captured and tagged after at least a year of flying free.
Her banding location is the town of Midland, in the Canadian province of Ontario-- about 600 miles from Chadds Ford. Midland is along on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay, and is home to the legendary Wye Marsh, where significant numbers of Trumpeter Swans breed.

We will try and grab a better photo of K46 to share.  Until then, come to Chadds Ford and see her for yourself!  And be sure to visit us at the Conservancy and Brandywine River Museum of Art while you are here!