Greetings All,
This post is NOT meant to suggest that any one has mis-identified any geese that they've reported. However, the separation of Richardson's Cackling Goose (Colorado's "normal" Cackling Goose) and Lesser Canada Goose (B.c. parvipes) is often very difficult, especially since Lesser Canada Goose looks rather small and has a distinctly high-pitched voice when compared with our resident "Big" Canada Geese (a swarm of B.c. moffitti and maxima). Thus, Lesser Canada Geese are easily mistaken for Richardson's Cackling Goose.. and indeed, I've seen birds, or groups of birds, that I've not been able to place in either group. Both Richardson's Cackler and Lesser Canada have both swarmed in over the last couple weeks. Some sample estimates at different locations from my observations of late are: 12 November (Richardson's/Lesser) Jumbo Res 275/425 Little Jumbo Res 250/none near Julesburg 100/190 6 November (Richardson's/Lesser) Jumbo 140/1 Little Jumbo 30/0 Prewitt 0/50 5 November (Richardson's/Lesser) Timnath 110/730 Windsor L 0/200 These are my best estimations anyway. One might well ask, "Who is this joker, new to Colorado, and by what credentials does he spout these statements?" To that end, one might check Distribution and Identification of Cackling Goose Subspecies in North American Birds, volume 62 (2008), pages 344-360), an article written by 8 folks, including Larry Semo, Tony Leukering, and me. Alas, this paper was published the year after North Am Birds was placed on The Searchable Ornithological Research Archive, which is on-line. I'd be happy to send a PDF of the article to anyone interested. Best Wishes Steven Mlodinow Longmont, CO -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
