FreeLists / birdky / [birdky] Blue Snow Goose?

["Gerald Robe" <ghrobe@xxxxxxxxx>]

While birding yesterday afternoon at the Minor Clark Fish Hatchery in Rowan 
Co., I observed a bird that I believe is was an immature "blue" Snow Goose. I'm 
not 100% on this ID because the bird didn't exactly look like the pictures in 
my field guides; the black on the neck extended farther up onto the head than 
the birds depicted in my books. I wonder if it might have been some kind of 
hybrid.
The bird had dark, purple-ish legs and the characteristic "grin patch" and pink 
bill of a Snow Goose. It was slightly smaller than the nearby Canada Geese. 
Since the dark legs would indicate that this was an immature bird, that might 
explain why the bird's head coloration is a little "off" from the field guides. 

I took several digital pictures of the bird through my spotting scope, so if 
anyone would care to take a look at them and render a judgement, I'd be glad to 
e-mail them to you.

Other interesting birds observed included a Great-crested Flycatcher, 3 
Semipalmated Sandpipers, 4 Wood Ducks and 2 Ospreys.

I also saw a Green Heron that did something I've never seen before--it ran away 
into the tall grass instead of flying off with a squawk like you would expect. 
I had a moment of excitement at this sight, because it looked like a large rail 
the way it was moving.

Gerald H. Robe
Mt. Sterling, KY
ghrobe@xxxxxxxxx

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