Date: 1/7/26 7:24 pm From: Peter Ruprecht <pruprecht...> Subject: Re: [cobirds] Interesting goose at Dodd Reservoir, Boulder County
Hi Randy,
One thing I find useful when identifying dark morph Snow Geese is the
tertial feathers that flop over the flanks and rump when the bird is
standing or swimming. On a dark morph Snow, these will be black with
distinctive white outlines. On hybrids, they're almost always solid brown
like on the Canada or Cackling parent.
Sometimes you can also see the nice blue-gray leading edge of the wing even
when a dark morph Snow has its wings folded. Again, the whole wing is
usually brown on a hybrid.
Based on that, I'd call the bird in your photos a hybrid. I personally have
a hard time deciding what Anser/Branta mix is in most hybrids (except for
tiny Ross's/Cackling hybrids), so maybe someone else will want to offer
advice there.
Peter Ruprecht
Superior
On Wed, Jan 7, 2026 at 4:01 PM Randy Siebert <rlsiebert52...> wrote:
> I got photos of a goose which is either a blue morph Snow Goose or a
> hybrid. A nice Greater White-fronted Goose was around for size comparison.
>
> Opinions will be appreciated and may save me dealing with an eBird
> reviewer.
>
> You can see them at:
> eBird Checklist - 7 Jan 2026 - Dodd Reservoir - 12 species
> <https://ebird.org/checklist/S292982911> >
> Randy Siebert
> Lafayette, Boulder County
>
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