Swan ID

Took this picture in Monticello MN. on Feb. 18. Wondering what would cause it to have orange feet? Black is normal. I've seen pictures of them when they supposedly cross breed with a domestic mute swan but then they usually have the humped up upper bill which this one doesn't.
Any ideas???

Looks to be a young Trumpeter Swan.

I don't believe young ones have orange feet but I could be wrong.

The legs look very light in tone to be a Tundra Swan. Can you do hard crop on the head to see if there's a yellow area in the bill, forward of the eye?

Nighthound wrote in post #14211786
The legs look very light in tone to be a Tundra Swan. Can you do hard crop on the head to see if there's a yellow area in the bill, forward of the eye?

Not that I can see.

I checked my bird book but had no info then I found this on internet, at trumpeter swan society.....

Trumpeter subadults, likely 2-3 years old, as evidenced by mottled leg color on the dark-legged swan. The yellow legs indicate the rare leucystic color phase. Leucystic Trumpeters are born white, do not go through the gray juvenile plumage phase, and often have very bright yellow legs as adults.

may have found a rare one may want to report it so it can be tracked. nice picture btw!!

suvey92 wrote in post #14211849
I checked my bird book but had no info then I found this on internet, at trumpeter swan society.....

Trumpeter subadults, likely 2-3 years old, as evidenced by mottled leg color on the dark-legged swan. The yellow legs indicate the rare leucystic color phase. Leucystic Trumpeters are born white, do not go through the gray juvenile plumage phase, and often have very bright yellow legs as adults.

may have found a rare one may want to report it so it can be tracked. nice picture btw!!

I just found that same info. I emailed the Trumpeter Swan Society a picture to see if they'll give me their opinion.
Thanks.

Here's the response from the Trumpeter Swan Society:
Your link worked this time. Great photo! Yes, a leucistic Trumpeter Swan. We have had one wintering for several years in Monticello on the Mississippi River. One was reported one winter in Heber Springs, Arkansas, where a flock of mainly Minnesota-origin Trumpeter Swans spends the winter November thru February. One winter a while back, when a Trumpeter with yellow feet was reported at Heber Springs, it left there at the end of February and one turned up in Monticello about a week later. A person sent me a photo of that one. No way of knowing if it is the same bird, but could very well be (see attached photo). They seem to be quite rare in the Midwest, but I understand they are more commonly observed in the Tristate Region around Yellowstone National Park. Trumpeters can live well in to their 20s.

That was a quick reply, very nice of them. Congratulations on the rare capture, we don't see Trumpeters here in South Carolina but I did recently photograph a Tundra Swan for the first time.