FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] [Fwd: Re: [MDOSPREY] Out, out damned goose...]

[Susan Heath <sheath@xxxxxxxxx>]

I thought I would forward this on because the helpful birder was
probably a Virginian.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Out, out damned goose...
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 18:14:24 -0500
From: Sherry Peruzzi <bookworms@xxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: MDOSPREY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Norm, may I post one more message about the goose in order to thank a
birder who
helped us find it? I don't know her name or even if she's a Marylander
or reads
this list, but just in case I'd like to try to let her know how much we
appreciate her help.

Ken, my husband and birding partner, and I drove down from Columbia to
Cameron
Run Regional Park this morning. We arrived about 11:30, finding the park
easily
thanks to the excellent directions that Michael Bowen posted last
Friday. But
once we got into the parking lot, we realized that we didn't have a clue
as to
where in the large lot to park to start looking for the goose. We
finally
decided to park near the pool, and soon found the miniature golf course.
We
walked from one end to the other, but couldn't see a lake or river or
anywhere a
flock of geese would be, so we walked back to the parking lot trying to
decide
where else to go. We had printouts of the other posts with us, and
thought we'd
try to find one of those spots.

As we were walking back to our car, probably looking as confused as we
felt, a
woman drove into the lot. When she saw our binoculars, she stopped,
opened her
window and called out, "Are you looking for The Goose?" When we said
yes, she
said, "It's just down the street -- turn left on Eisenhower and it's in
a flock
of geese on the grass just opposite the blinker light, right out by the
road.
It's easy to see! Go, hurry up!"

We raced to our car, drove out, and saw a small flock of geese on the
left just
past where the mini-golf course ends. We found the small parking lot by
the lake
(next to the townhouses), which we hadn't known about because it's past
the
entrance to the park. We jumped out and ran back toward the flock of
geese. And
yes! There among 28 Canadas feeding on the grass was the Barnacle Goose,
just as
our anonymous benefactor had said.

The geese were still there when we left about 20 minutes later, feeding
calmly
on the grass, completely unbothered by either the joggers who ran by on
the path
a few feet away or by us standing there on the grass watching and taking
pictures.

If the birder who called out to us hadn't taken the initiative to do so,
we
would probably have gone down to the Eisenhower Avenue bridge and
completely
missed the Barnacle Goose, a life bird for both of us.

As novice birders, Ken and I rediscover again and again how friendly and
helpful
the birding community is. If you are reading this and recognize
yourself, please
know that volunteering your help made all the difference to us!

And Norm, I also appreciate your allowing me to post this in case
whoever it is
reads this list.

Sherry Peruzzi
Columbia, Howard County
bookworms@xxxxxxxx


Saunders_N wrote:

> A short article in the 2 February 2002 issue of The Economist discusses a
> report by Robert Fleischer et al which has just been published in the
> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  The report examines Canada
> Goose taxonomy, as well as the taxonomy of the Nene and two other
> now-extinct goose species from the Hawaiian Islands.
>
> Dr. Fleischer finds that the Nene and the two extinct goose species were
> closely related (not surprisingly) but have also been discovered to be mere
> subspecies of the Canada Goose.  Another goose species that Fleischer lumps
> in with this subgoup of our too-familiar Canada Goose is the Barnacle Goose.
> Read this and weep, oh ye Virginia birders...grin.
>
> And now, having gotten that off my chest, shall we leave further discussion
> of the Barnacle Goose to the Virginia lists and turn back to Maryland?
> Thank you...
>
> =====================================
> Norman C. Saunders
> Colesville, Montgomery County, MD
> marshhawk@xxxxxxx
>
> =======================================================================
> To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey
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