Hello, Birders. Just a note of rather minor interest, but some Boulderites will care.
Around mid-day today, Saturday, Nov. 19th, Hannah and Andrew and I saw, in the great throng of Canada and Cackling geese at Waneka Lake, Boulder County, a single GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. The way to distinguish it from all the Canadas, Cacklers, and 'tweeners is that it's the bird obviously in preformative molt... ;) No, look for all the other "traditional" field marks. (The Greater White-front is, in fact, largely in juvenile plumage, but molting on the head and I think elsewhere.) While looking for, and one hopes AT, the Greater White-front, do take a look at the extraordinary variation and variability among all the "white-cheeked" geese. For a true avian challenge, forget about empids or diving-petrels; "White-cheeked" geese are where it's at! One behavioral/ecological observation: Over at nearby Greenlee Reservoir, all the "white-cheeked" geese (fewer than 50, mind you) were great honkin' (ha) big Canadas. But the birds at Waneka are a fascinating and bewildering mix. Finally, it probably goes without saying that the geese at Waneka (or anywhere) move around a lot. These past few days, they've been hanging out around mid-day, for what it's worth. Ted Floyd [email protected] Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado -- 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.
