This subspecies of Cackling Goose was New for me. The Most Abundant bird in the wetlands this day. Donna Pomeroy @dpom & her husband Doug are fantastic teachers.
This subspecies of Cackling Goose was New for me. The Most Abundant bird in the wetlands this day. Donna Pomeroy @dpom & her husband Doug are fantastic teachers.
This subspecies of Cackling Goose was New for me. The Most Abundant bird in the wetlands this day. Donna Pomeroy @dpom & her husband Doug are fantastic teachers.
Two tiny geese, smaller than a female mallard were at the Lake Gladewater Dam area this morning. The rounded head, dark breast and size are indicative of Branta minima. It's my understanding that there are no records of this subspecies this far east. A discussion of Cackling Geese can be found at http://www.utahbirds.org/RecCom/IDhelp/Cackling_Goose-NAB.pdf The second goose appears to be a hybrid Ross's Goose. Also very tiny, smaller than a normal Ross's Goose.
Note the smaller size relative to Branta canadensis (individual grazing with 8 B. canadensis adults), shorter, stubbier bill, darker color, and shorter neck.
Left foreground is a Ridgway's Cackling Goose (B. h. minima)hatch-year, right foreground an Aleutian Cackling Goose (B. h. leukopareia) hatch-year. Note that the Aleutian lacks the white collar that some observers believe is a good identification mark for this subspecies; the collar does not molt in until sometime in mid-winter. In the background is a Great Basin Canada Goose.