Well done!
The pen (female) Swan of the pair that's on the lake, that I'd already pretty much made up my mind I was going to kill because I don't just hate them....I fukcing hate them. It doesn't even seem possible how insanely loud these fukcers are. I basically can't sleep with the windows open anymore because I'll be woken up at 1, 2, 3, 4am, etc., to what sounds like some asshole blowing a trumpet in my ear.
Anyways, the bitch of the pair is banded. 100% positive she's sporting iron (dumb nickname since they're aluminum) on her right leg.
It's a standard crimp style band versus a riveted style band that are often seen on trumpeters. The reason for this is due to trumpeters having large legs, roughly the same diameter as eagles, and because raptors are able to peel off crimped bands they need to use riveted style bands on them. As a result, the USFWS makes size 10 bands in the riveted style. I'm guessing this band is a size 9 which is what they use on tundra swans, one size bigger than the size 8 bands used on resident Canada geese, and since I've already got a size 9 band off a tundra Swan.....I'm actually fairly disappointed this isn't a larger riveted style band since I don't have one of those. A guy I used to know once found a dead osprey in the ditch that a riveted style size 8. Riveted bands are the shit.
