[wisb] Re: Dark Adult Snow Goose - Ephraim Door Co.
- From: Mark Korducki <korducki@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "erdmant@xxxxxxxx" <erdmant@xxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 14:32:09 -0500
Thanks Tom. Fascinating bit of history.
Mark Korducki, new Berlin
Sent from my iPhone
On Sep 24, 2013, at 1:54 PM, "Erdman, Thomas" <erdmant@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Sue, this is a long story. They aren't that uncommon along Green Bay/Lake
> Michigan. This dark morph was more common in the past. What you describe is
> a full blood "Blue Goose". Blues and Snows were considered separate species
> for many years being isolated in their breeding areas. Snow geese from
> Hudson's Bay westward and Blue Geese in Eastern Hudson Bay/Baffin Island.
> The actual nesting location for Blue Geese wasn't found (by Caucasians) until
> 1928 when Dewey Soper found them at Bowman Bay.
> The Blue Geese migrated straight south down Lake Michigan with most east of
> the Lake, and wintered in Louisiana. The Snow Geese also migrated south
> further west and wintered on the Texas Gulf. As early as 1884 the area from
> southwestern Louisiana to southeastern Texas was eyed for growing rice. By
> the 1920's this area expanded and became major rice producing region. Well
> the Snow Geese which had wintered in Texas spread east, and the Blue Geese in
> Louisiana spread west, until they met each other and recognized "a long lost
> cousin"!! The populations probably had been separated since the last ice
> age, ~ 8-9 thousand years. Well, geese pair up on wintering grounds, and
> soon we had mixed pairs. Then in a few years we started observing white
> breasted, Blue Geese, which were considered hybrids at the time. DNA
> research since has shown the two to be one species. Undoubtedly this
> blending of the two gene pools has probably enhanced the population and may
> be reflected in the
> tremendous increase, especially of Snow Geese in the west.
> This is an example where man's activities altered the genetic drift and
> brought them back together. If given enough time without range changes they
> have become distinct species. One thing to note in old Wisconsin bird
> records the Blue Goose, especially the young of the year often were called
> "Brant" by market gunners and later duck hunters.
>
> Tom Erdman, Curator
> Richter Museum of Natural History
> University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
> Behalf Of Sue Peterson
> Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 11:37 AM
> To: doorcobirding@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [wisb] Dark Adult Snow Goose - Ephraim Door Co.
>
> The Eagle Harbor in Ephraim has a flock of about 45 Canada Geese, with one
> DARK ADULT SNOW GOOSE among them. (South end.) It is colored just as
> Sibley’s Guide shows the dark adult morph. Orange legs and bill, bill with a
> “grin patch”. Dark gray body with silver feathers at back above rump, white
> head with some black at back of neck and head. Smaller than the Canada Geese,
> larger than the Mallards nearby.
> How unusual is this dark adult morph, compared to the white Snow Goose? I
> don’t remember seeing one before.
>
> Sue Peterson
> Ephraim
> Door Co.
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