Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

Mute Swans [lateral view of probable immatures]. Photograph Credit: R. Gregg Garrison; Lakeland Dr., Warren County, Tennessee; 5 January 2011.

Abundance: Very Uncommon during winter; Rare during late spring, summer, and early to mid-fall; at least 44 records in 15 Regional counties, 4 in Kentucky and 11 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population summering in the Region, while data relevant to wintering might be viewed as supporting a positive trend that would be concordant with a similar trend at the continental level (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident (41 late fall, winter, and spring records, 1 of which overlaps an Out-of-Season record); mainly a Visitor during summer and early fall (3 records, 1 of which overlaps late fall record); introduced into North America; no doubt self-introduced into Kentucky and Tennessee; photographs (see links below).

Regional High Count and CBC/CBB High Count: 21 (27 December 2004; Wayne County, Kentucky [CBC]; Roseanna M. Denton, Connie S. Neeley, Stephen J. Stedman); Next Highest Regional High Count: 19 (5 February 2006; Jackson County, Tennessee; Carol D. Williams photo).

Information on Records:

6 February 1994 (1) pond at intersection of Flat Fork Rd. and Rt. 62, Morgan County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman).

5 April 1995 (1—adult) Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman photo; Stedman 2006–2012).

10 February/2 March 1996 (2) Mason Grissom Rd., Warren County, Tennessee (N. P. "Mac McWhirter, Susan N. McWhirter; Fekel 1997a).

25 January 1997 (2) L Springs Pay Lake, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

Winter 1998–1999 (2) Pickett and eastern Clay counties (fide Robbie C. Hassler).

17 & 23 January/12 February 1999 (9/1) Thurston's Pond, Wayne County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo).

Winter 1999–2000 (3) Pickett and eastern Clay counties (fide Robbie C. Hassler). 

15 February 2000 (2—adults) pond on Rt. 62 c. 12 km east of Monterey, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Stedman 2006–2012).

21 February 2000 (2—adults) pond on Rt. 62 c. 6 km east of Putnam County line, Fentress County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman et al.); same swans as previous record.

4 December 2000 (1) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo).

December 2000/January 2001 (8/7) Clay/Pickett counties, Tennessee (Robbie C. Hassler). 

23 January/29 January, 4 & 7 February 2001 (1/1) Pumphouse Pond/Twin Lakes, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

21 January 2001 (2—adults) Locust Grove Rd., Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Stedman 2006–2009), a Winter Roadside Survey record.

7–11 January 2002 (1—adult) Lake Canterbury, Fairfield Glade, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Carol Campbell photo, Stephen J. Stedman photo, Winston A. Walden).

28 December 2002/26 January 2003 (8/several) Granville, Jackson County, Tennessee (Tommy L. Curtis, Virginia Curtis/Carol D. Williams photo).

14–17 February 2003 (8) Lillydale, Dale Hollow Lake, Clay County, Tennessee (Terry M. Campbell), probably the same swans as noted in previous record.

2 February 2004 (2) Lee's Ford Dock, Fishing Creek, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

11 & 14 February 2004 (8) Wayne County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton et al.). 

27 December 2004/22 January 2005 (21—including 1 juvenile/4—age not recorded) Cooley's Pond, Wayne County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton, Connie S. Neeley, Stephen J. Stedman/Roseanna M. Denton), a CBC record [on first date].

22 January & 15 February 2005 (2) Conley Bottoms, Wayne County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

18 December 2005 (3) Cedar Hill Resort, Dale Hollow Lake, Clay County, Tennessee (fide Terry M. Campbell).

20 December 2005/7 January 2006 (7) Cooley's Pond, Wayne County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton), a CBC record.

23/25 December 2005/12 January 2006 (5—3 adults and 2 immatures) Livingston Reservoir, Overton County, Tennessee (Ginny Morton, King Morton/Stephen J. Stedman/Stephen J. Stedman).

24/27 December 2005 (3—adults) Moss Island, Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee, (Stephen J. Stedman, Carol D. Williams/Stephen J. Stedman, Margo Hinkle), a CBC record on latter date.

24 December 2005–6 February 2006 (1) Twin Lakes, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton), a CBC record (in part—31 December 2005).

12 January 2006 (4—adults) near Obey River Recreation Area, Dale Hollow Lake, Pickett County, Tennessee,  (Stephen J. Stedman, Craig Norris, Ben Gore).

12 January 2006 (3—adults) Sulfur Creek, Dale Hollow Lake, Clinton County, Kentucky (Sondra Carmen).

5/17 February 2006 (19/4) Cumberland River near Holleman's Bend Rd., Jackson County, Tennessee (Carol D. Williams  photo/Stephen J. Stedman).

16 February 2006 (1) L Spring Pay Lake, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

18 February 2006 (1) Fishing Creek, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton, C. Gay Hodges, Arlene M. Morton), a Great Backyard Bird Count record.

20 February 2006 (1) Vaughn Rd., DeKalb County, Tennessee (Judy C. Fuson, Carol D. Williams photo), a Great Backyard Bird Count record.

16 January 2007 (2) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo).

21/23/25 February 2007 (12) Rt. 53 c. 1 km east of Gainesboro city limit, Jackson County, Tennessee (Danny Stone fide Terry M. Campbell/Heather Gothard photo/Nancy S. Layzer, James Layzer).

15 December 2008 (1) General Burnside Island State Park, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

16 January 2009 (4) Boat ramp at Barren River Lake State Resort Park, Barren County, Kentucky (Lisa Deavers photo).

25 January/8 February 2009 (4—2 adults and 2 immatures) pond on Mason Grissom Rd./pond on Rt. 287 c. 0.5 km south of intersection with Rayburn-Walling Rd., both Warren County, Tennessee (N. P. "Mac" McWhirter unpubl. data/Edmund K. LeGrand, Stephen J. Stedman).

9–22 March 2009 (1–3) Dixon Springs, Smith County, Tennessee (Faith Young fide Fran Rutkovsky, Harold Tinsley photo, Stephen J. Stedman photo [21 March 2009]).

19 December 2009 (2—flyovers) Southern Hills Golf Course, Putnam County, Tennessee (Edmund K. LeGrand, Daniel L. Combs), a CBC record.

1 December 2010–19 February 2011 (1—adult) Lake Tansi and Lake Breckenridge [on last date cited], Cumberland County, Tennessee (Edmund K. LeGrand et al.), a CBC record and a GBBC record in part; continues a record from fall 2010 (see also Out-of-Season Records [below]).

24 December 2010–5 January 2011 (3—immatures) Lakeland Dr., Warren County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, R. Gregg Garrison photo [last date]), a CBC record [4 January 2011].

27 October 2011 (1—adult) Lake Tansi, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Edmund K. LeGrand), probably the same bird found at this site during the previous winter.

Out-of-Season (Summer and Fall) Records:

19 August 2006 (1) Cooley's Pond, Wayne County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

15/27 May/10 June/22 July 2008 (1) Fishing Creek/Pulaski County Park/Fishing Creek Recreation Area/General Burnside Island State Park, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

24 September 2010–30 November 2010 (1) Lake Tansi, Cumberland County, Tennessee (DJ Stanley photo/Edmund K. LeGrand), this swan remained into the following winter (see also Information on Records [above]).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Fall: 1 December 2010 (Cumberland County, Tennessee; Edmund K. LeGrand et al); but see also Out-of-Season Records.

    Late Spring: 5 April 1995 (Putnam County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman photo; Stedman 2006–2012), but see also Out-of-Season Records.

Breeding: No breeding by wild individuals confirmed but strongly suspected in the Dale Hollow Lake area; captive pairs confirmed to be breeding within the Region but whether and/or how much these contribute to the free-flying population unknown.

Habitat: Quite small to quite large bodies of water with submergent vegetation, at least if a stay of any length occurs.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: no registrations.

Remarks: Considered a pest in some parts of its expanding range in consequence of its high productivity and its ability to change the composition and abundance of aquatic vegetation in ponds where it resides; highly aggressive toward all other species on the territorial pond during the nesting cycle.

    Four unidentified swans, possibly of this species, were present on a pond near the Central View community, White County, Tennessee, 30 January & 2 February 2004 (Douglas A. Downs).

    Two swans, thought to be hybrid Mute X Trumpeter Swans based in part on the highly unusual color pattern of their bills, were noted 8 January 2008 at General Burnside Island State Park, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2008b).  Two swans believed to be the same individuals were found near London, Kentucky, a week or so after the Burnside sighting; these swans were quite tame and were apparently returning to the London site for the second winter.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited