Saw a very interesting bird today on Gorman lake in Le Sueur County. It appeared in all aspects to be a hybrid between Canada and White-fronted Goose. While it was the size of the 150 Canada Geese that it was with, it had a pink bill and pink legs that match the colors of a white-fronteds colors. There were no White-fronted Geese in this particular area for comparison but I had seen a dozen a couple of hours earlier in Rice County so I had a good feel for the color (i.e. I was not remembering colors from last year.) The plumage in all other aspects appeared to be from a Canaga Goose although I had trouble seeing the complete underside because of other geese getting and staying in the way.
As these two species nest in the same general areas I am sure that this is not an extremely rare combination but it was the first time I had ever seen it. Dennis Martin [email protected]
