Today Stephanie and I were having lunch on our way out to do some birding when I got a phone call. The caller ID said "Craig Fosdick," and I knew that what it meant was "Good Birds Have Been Found." Sure enough, Craig and Keith Archibald were scanning a flock of about a thousand Canada Geese and had also found Snow Geese, Tundra Swans, and a Ross's Goose in the mix! By the time we got there, the geese had moved a bit further from the road, but in the next hour or so we were also able to find three Cackling Geese and a Greater White-fronted Goose in the flock. Cackling Geese are a smaller version of the familiar Canada Goose, and were recognized as a distinct species in 2004. You can see one with Canada Geese in the photo above - can you find it? Perhaps it is only because they are a recent species which didn't have much attention paid to it when it was just a subspecies, but the new species is considered rare in Utah and is being tracked by the Utah Rare Birds Committee, who will be interested in a report about this sighting. White-fronted Geese are not considered as rare state-wide, but are apparently more rare in Cache Valley - Bob Atwood told me that he hadn't seen one in Cache Valley since the mid-1990s. It seems that the spring migration is finally underway, and my list is again picking up momentum, with four new species today!
08 March 2008
Fun with Geese
Today Stephanie and I were having lunch on our way out to do some birding when I got a phone call. The caller ID said "Craig Fosdick," and I knew that what it meant was "Good Birds Have Been Found." Sure enough, Craig and Keith Archibald were scanning a flock of about a thousand Canada Geese and had also found Snow Geese, Tundra Swans, and a Ross's Goose in the mix! By the time we got there, the geese had moved a bit further from the road, but in the next hour or so we were also able to find three Cackling Geese and a Greater White-fronted Goose in the flock. Cackling Geese are a smaller version of the familiar Canada Goose, and were recognized as a distinct species in 2004. You can see one with Canada Geese in the photo above - can you find it? Perhaps it is only because they are a recent species which didn't have much attention paid to it when it was just a subspecies, but the new species is considered rare in Utah and is being tracked by the Utah Rare Birds Committee, who will be interested in a report about this sighting. White-fronted Geese are not considered as rare state-wide, but are apparently more rare in Cache Valley - Bob Atwood told me that he hadn't seen one in Cache Valley since the mid-1990s. It seems that the spring migration is finally underway, and my list is again picking up momentum, with four new species today!
It's the one with 3 legs right?
ReplyDeleteHa! I didn't even notice that. But no, it's the one just to the left of that one. Notice the small body, short neck, small round head, and stubby bill compared to the other geese in the photo.
ReplyDeleteUpdate: this record is currently under review by the Utah Bird Records Committee.
ReplyDeleteUpdate: This record has been rejected by the Bird Records Committee. See my post about this for an explanation of their findings and why it is still on my list of species seen.
ReplyDelete