7 December 2025
Yesterday Chapin Czarnecki discovered a lesser black backed gull (Larus fuscus) at Duck Hollow that drew birders to the site all afternoon. This rare visitor from Europe, Greenland and the Atlantic coast is easy to identify because he is slightly larger than ring-billed gulls, has a black back, yellow legs and a smudgy eye in non-breeding plumage. Chapin got a good photo of him for his checklist.
Birders soon noticed that there are now two species of swans at Duck Hollow, the immature tundra swan who’s been there since mid-November, and now a mute swan as well. John Flannigan captured both in the same cellphone photo. The immature tundra swan is in its typical butt-in-the-air feeding position while the mute swan bends its elegant neck to touch the water.
Mute swans were introduced to North America from Eurasia because they are pretty (see photo from the Netherlands at top), but they are also aggressive, voracious, and drive away other waterfowl during the breeding season, thus rating them as invasive in North America.
These two are at peace because it’s winter, and perhaps because they are the only swans around for many miles.
So it’s Double Swan Day at Duck.
PROOF! Here they are together down near Sandcastle, merely dots in my scope as seen from Duck Hollow on Double Swan Day.
p.s. Will Duck Hollow ever see more than two swan species at the same time? Extremely unlikely! However, it’s possible to see three swan species in winter in northwestern Ohio near Magee and Howard Marshes: Mute swan (introduced), trumpeter swan (reintroduced) and tundra swan (overwintering).
p.p.s. There are six swan species on earth. Three at the same time is about the best you can do. I was curious about the ones I’ve seen so I made a table.
| Species | Native to | Last Seen: When? | Last Seen: Where? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) | Eurasia | 7/22/2025 | Helsinki, Finland |
| Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) | Australia | 2009 | (introduced) Ponderosa Golf Course, Hookstown, PA |
| Black-necked Swan (Cygnus melancoryphus) | southern South America | ------ | (never seen) |
| Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) | North America | 5/9/2025 | Magee Marsh, Ohio |
| Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) | northern Eurasia | 11/30/2025 | Duck Hollow, Pittsburgh, PA |
| Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) | Eurasia | 7/21/2025 | Outokumpu--Sysmäjärvi, Finland |