Tag: Cackling Cackling Goose

Frozen Fernhill

by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

An arctic air mass brought cold temperatures and ice to Fernhill Wetlands (Birding Oregon p. 61), but there was no shortage of birds. Here are some grainy gray photos from a lap around the ponds.


Horned Grebe


Tundra Swans and California Gull


Taverner’s Cackling Goose and Northern Shovelers


Cackling Geese and Northern Pintails


Snow Goose and Cackling Geese


American Kestrel


immature Bald Eagles


This American White Pelican, a very late straggler, was circling high overhead, trying to find a thermal on this cold cloudy morning.


Cackling Cackling Geese


Great Blue Heron standing on a Beaver dam. Note the frost on the bird’s back.

Lesser Canada Goose

by John Rakestraw, posted in identification challenges

It’s time for another installment of my attempts to sort out the Canada/Cackling Goose complex. I recently had nice views of a Lesser Canada Goose (Branta canadensis parvipes).

lesser-canada-grazing
This bird stood out from the nearby Western Canada Geese by the slightly darker barring on his upper breast. Some populations of this subspecies are considerably darker than this.

lesser-canada-western-canada
Here is the Lesser Canada in front of the larger Western Canada Goose (Branta canadensis moffitti). Note the smaller overall size of the Lesser, and the proportionally shorter neck.

lesser-canada
Lesser Canada Goose in profile. The bill is almost half the total length of the head. The upper neck is quite thin.

taverners-cackling
Compare these Taverner’s Cackling Geese (Branta hutchinsii taverneri) to the Lesser Canada. Taverner’s Cackling has a uniformly thick neck and shorter bill. Notice how the wing tips extend just beyond the end of the tail. Canada Geese have shorter wings.

cackling-cackling-taverners-cackling
Here is a Taverner’s Cackling Goose within a flock of Cackling Cackling Geese (Branta hutchinsii minima). Note the longer thick neck and slightly longer bill than those on minima.