Mute Swan Observation at Gavins Point Dam Area, Cedar/Knox Co., Nebraska

The Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (NOURC) considers Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) to be Accidental in Nebraska (NOURC 2017) with only two accepted records. A review of Mute Swan status in the Midwest and Nebraska, how individual records in Nebraska are evaluated to determine wild provenance, and a review of Nebraska reports can be found in “The Mute Swan in Nebraska: History and Current Status” (Brogie et al. 2016). The following is an account of the third NOURC accepted record for Mute Swan in Nebraska. On 11 June 2021 we observed two sub-adult Mute Swans on Lake Yankton, Cedar County, Nebraska. Identification was straightforward: large, white, long-tailed swans with pale, slightly- knobbed bill with dark markings at the base. In flight the secondary coverts and the base of the primaries still retained some brown coloration, aging the birds as Basic II