Date: 3/3/23 8:29 am From: Gregory Hanisek via CTBirds <ctbirds...> Subject: [CT Birds] Re: Cackling-ish Geese - "Lesser" Canada versus Cackling X Canada hybrid at Lake Wepawaug (Orange, New Haven County)
Andy's comments here are worth keeping in mind at any place with a
concentration of "white-cheeked" geese. In recent years there have been
several instances of these perplexing flocks of small geese that on close
scrutiny do not hold up well as "good" Cackling Geese. If you dig around in
David Sibley material on the Internet you may be able to find an
encounter of his with such a group a number of years ago. Also several
years ago Nick Bonomo found such a group at Mackenzie Res. in Wallingford,
where I joined him to puzzle over them. Andy also mentions 2 contributing
factors - (Lesser) Canada Goose (B.c. parvipes) and possible Canada X
Cackling hybrids. Apparently parvipes is not well known because of its
remote breeding areas, and subspecies in general are not as rigorously
determined officially as are species. Cackling Goose subspecies also factor
into the complexity. The problem with hybrids goes without saying.
Greg Hanisek
Waterbury
On Fri, Mar 3, 2023 at 10:32 AM Andrew McGann via CTBirds <
<ctbirds...> wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> I was able to spend some quality time with the geese roosting at Lake
> Wepawaug in Orange (New Haven County) on Wednesday this week. I was
> searching for the juvie Greater White-fronted Goose that has been hanging
> around the area, but I was not able to spot it. This was Wednesday midday,
> after the snowfall, and before it began to melt. It seemed like most of
> the geese were waiting out the snowmelt at the lake, as opposed to
> venturing out in search of green “pastures” (cemeteries, lawns, farms &
> sports fields). Viewing conditions weren’t ideal, as many of the ~400
> geese were hanging out on the lake margins where they were obscured by
> trees & shrubs from my point of view.
>
> I scrutinized the geese for any Cackling Geese, and while I did not find
> any “Richardson’s” Cackling (B. h. hutchinsii), I spotted a small group
> (about 2-6 individuals) that were very *interesting*. They jumped out as
> different, with their shorter necks, somewhat flat-topped heads, and
> somewhat smaller bodies. However, the bill size seemed to rule out Cackling
> Goose to me, in the field. I texted the video clip to some of my friends,
> for their opinions, and there was agreement that they were “interesting.”
> (Haha…) But in all seriousness, they very well might be “Lesser” Canada
> geese (B. c. parvipes), or they very well might be hybrids of Cackling X
> Canada. This small group swam together, slowly, across the lake, and
> within the group there was some variation in size & proportions.
>
> View the video clip and still frames on my eBird checklist:
> https://ebird.org/checklist/S129934007 >
> Scrutinizing white-cheeked geese is more fun than it sounds. As for
> notable non-Anseriformes at the lake, there was a Pied-billed Grebe.
>
> Good birding,
> Andy
>
> --
> Andy McGann
> New Haven, CT
>
>
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