[obol] Re: Cackling goose (Aleutian form)
- From: Bob <rflores_2@xxxxxxx>
- To: "shawneenfinnegan@xxxxxxxxx" <shawneenfinnegan@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 13:34:00 -0700
One last item to add to the ID on Aleutians the forehead is very steep which
adds to that block flat top look to the head. Yes collars are not seen on all
Aleutians.
Bob Flores
Ridgefield, WA
Sent from my iPad
> On Oct 14, 2014, at 09:43, Shawneen Finnegan <shawneenfinnegan@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> Marlowe:
>
> Dave and I just returned from the annual Western Field Ornithologists's
> conference in San Diego last night so if there was a discussion on why this
> was identified as an Aleutian I missed it.
>
> BTW, I highly encourage anyone interested in West Coast birds to join this
> wonderful organization. The conferences are awesome and next year's will be
> in Montana. You do not, by any means, need to be an ornithologist type to
> join or appreciate the journal. San Diego, despite the effects of the severe
> drought, provided a lot of great birds for people to see including gobs of
> Brown Boobies and a few Blue-foots seen from shore, Red-throated Pipits,
> Yellow-green Vireo, lots of eastern warblers, Dickcissel, and many more. Some
> were only seen briefly by a few like Painted Redstart, but overall folks were
> able to see lots of fun birds, plus the local specialties like California
> Gnatcatcher. There were a few of us from the Pacific NW but we would love to
> see more people attend from our neck of the woods.
>
> But back to geese. As Bob Archer mentioned, a large white collar does not
> make an Aleutian. Head shape is critical given the salt gland.
>
> Dave Irons and I have also spent a lot of time studying geese, particularly
> Dave, given his strong interest in white-cheeked geese. He wrote a piece on
> the Semidi population that winters in Pacific City area, a subpopulation of
> Aleutian.
>
> The captions are where the meat of the ID information is at:
> http://www.birdfellow.com/birds/cackling-goose-branta-hutchinsii#/idPhotos
>
> Plus here is a gallery of the variation in Aleutian that Dave has taken:
>
> http://www.birdfellow.com/photos/thumbnails/128-variation-in-aleutian-cackling-goose?id=2020
>
> And the Semidi blog piece is at:
>
> http://www.birdfellow.com/journal/2011/04/26/bird_of_the_week_semidi_islands_cackling_goose
>
>
> Shawneen Finnegan
> Portland, OR
>
>> On Tue, Oct 14, 2014 at 8:28 AM, Bob Archer <rabican1@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Hi:
>>
>>
>> Best way is to look at head shape, from what I understand they have a gland
>> in their head to help deal with salt water, so the head looks more like a
>> block than other geese. The white collar on neck can be seen on all
>> cacklers and is not a good mark to rely on. On an Aleutian form the collar
>> should go all the way around the neck. So if head shape is not addressed
>> then it would be hard to id an Aleutian in the valley.
>>
>> Here is a good guide I post just about every year in the late fall :) :
>>
>> http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/hunting/waterfowl/goose-permits/Goosefieldguide_2ndEdition_final.pdf
>>
>>
>>
>> Bob Archer
>> PDX
>>
>>> On Tue, Oct 14, 2014 at 7:51 AM, Marlowe Kissinger <rosebudgurl@xxxxxxx>
>>> wrote:
>>> I saw the picture of the Cackling goose (Aleutian form). How do you tell
>>> the difference. The only thing I see is size.
>>> Are there any markings that tell it's an Aleutian vs a regular cackling?
>>> Just trying to learn.
>>>
>>> Marlowe
>
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