I think the first photo shows Taverner's Cackling Geese. The necks seem a
little long because the birds are on high alert (probably because someone
is pointing a scope at them), but the bills are pretty stubby and the necks
are thick. Lesser Canada Geese show slender necks and longer bills, rather
like a miniature Western Canada.
The second photo looks fine for Ridgeway's Cackling Geese (*minima*). I
find that a fairly significant percentage of individuals of this subspecies
shows a white neck collar, .
Cheers,
John Rakestraw
On Thu, Feb 11, 2016 at 1:00 AM, Evan Centanni <evan@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi all,
Had a great trip to Baskett Slough NWR with my brother Caleb and our mom
today, and came back wondering about some of the geese we saw. Is anyone
here experienced with identifying Canada and Cackling subspecies? Here are
my questions:
1. We were lucky enough to spot an early Greater White-fronted Goose,
among a group of about 50 white-cheeked geese that were quite close in size
to the GWFG, with light breasts and necks that looked a bit too long for
Cacklers. Does that make them Lesser Canada Geese (ssp parvipes)? Photos:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S27420798
2. Among the group there was also a goose that looked like one of the
possible Lessers, but had a medium-brown cheek instead of white, and a
distinct whitish area on the forehead (right behind the base of the bill).
Is this normal variation for Canada geese, or is it possible we were
looking at a hybrid Canada x GWFG? (Unfortunately no pictures for this one.)
3. Earlier in the afternoon, we spent awhile looking at a flock of about
150 Cacklers (I think!) that wasn't associating with the larger groups, and
which struck us as having some variation in color (some with very reddish
breasts, others not so much) and in body size as well. There were one or
two birds with yellow bands affixed to their necks - "minima" Cacklers, I'm
told - but many of the others seemed a bit bigger, and the rate of white
neck-rings was higher than I remembered noticing in past observations, with
maybe around 10% of the birds showing such white at the base of the necks.
Does this still sound good for "minima" Cacklers, or is it possible
something else was going on? Photos here:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S27420794
Really appreciate any thoughts!
Cheers,
Evan
--
Evan Centanni
www.polgeonow.com
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