Never shot one but have pics of one that was in with a bunch of trumpeters. Local wildlife Officer eventually removed it with an AR. Only the second one I've seen but hear stories of them being seen from time to time.
I know they have been spotted in the area. Far and few between. I would probably have to locate one on the ground first to confirm it was the correct one to shoot before I tried to target one.
from Washington, taken out of the wild..they are very aggressive towards native swans and FW has been active in removing them over the years. WDFW said they appreciate reports of mute swans.
from Washington, taken out of the wild..they are very aggressive towards native swans and FW has been active in removing them over the years. WDFW said they appreciate reports of mute swans.
Skyhigh,
Can hunters harvest mute swans in the state of Washington? I have not seen anything in the regs that says you can? Or do they have to be removed by WDFW officers? I had watched one of these last year near Conway. You would almost need to ID one of these on the ground first to prevent the harvest of the wrong species.
After speaking to a wdfw officer it has been confirmed that mute swans are an invasive species and are legal to harvest. Similar to the ECD. But with that being said I still would never attempt to take one unless it was on the ground and easy to identify.
Which one is a Mute Swan? I have never bothered looking that close at Swans. When the giant white birds fly over I make sure everyone knows not to take a shot and enjoy the show.
Which one is a Mute Swan? I have never bothered looking that close at Swans. When the giant white birds fly over I make sure everyone knows not to take a shot and enjoy the show.
True enough. I spent some time online researching last night. It seems Trumpeter Swans have all black bills. While Mute Swans have the color on the bills and a larger body size.
Being waterfowl and an invasive species are we limited to harvesting them with a shotgun? It would seem they would be fair game with an AR 15 or bolt rifle in safe shooting areas.
FWIW Scaup,
Tundras have varying amounts of yellow on the bill as well. Granted it's much smaller than a mutes, who tend more toward orange at times. It can be difficult to distinguish without binos or geting close enough without flaring them. I know in NY they have declared war on them. There is an established feral population: http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf ... ln2013.pdf
Hence my intentions to talk to the local biologists and find out what the regulations and rules are on harvesting them. I suspect it is better to let WDFW know when you see them. They can have a warden or other representative harvest them.
If it is legal, it would be great to harvest one. I have been looking for some nicely sized white feather for some arrows I am making up for my longbow. You just have to be really sure that you are not harvesting the wrong species! One is a nice batch of feathers and the other is a trip to the courthouse.
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