HA!! Thanks for the MANY responses to my dead goose query. When I first
saw the bird, I said to my husband - oh look, a White-winged Scoter! So
obvious. And then my nerdy brain couldn't quite understand what the bill
was looking like and the head seemed to round and gentle - so I changed it
to a must-be-a-goose which was of course ridiculous because of the short
neck and the feet.
If I have any excuses, it is that it is dead and birds look strange when
they're dead. AND weirdly, I think I've tried to block out all the
horrible childhood hours I was forced to pluck dead ducks in a freezing
backyard shed - and have thoroughly tried to forget what dead ducks look
like.
So I've changed the title on the picture and it wasn't meant to be a joke
Scott - who called it a Steller's Eider - ONLY JOKING!!
Good birding, Beverly
