Category: Cackling Goose

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Three Diminutive Geese at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area

In addition to the Canada Geese and Snow Geese currently visiting Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, three smaller geese of interest were seen there this afternoon.

Canada Geese and Snow Geese
The Big Geese-  The three Snow Geese and some of the one thousand or more Canada Geese presently calling the lake at Middle Creek home.  Again today, flocks of hundreds of Snow Geese circled the lake, but did not decide to stay.
Ross's Goose
Small Goose #1-  First reported several days ago, this Ross’s Goose continues to be seen in the company of Canada Geese.
Cackling Goose
Small Goose #2-  Just 100 feet to the right of the Ross’s Goose, we spotted this dark little Cackling Goose, another rarity.  It is probably a Richardson’s Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii hutchinsii), a subspecies that nests in the arctic tundra of north-central Canada.
Cackling Goose
Small Goose #3-  And to its right was another Cackling Goose, this one a bit paler, particularly on the breast (hatch-year bird?).  Note its small size and stubby bill compared to the nearby Canada Geese.
Cackling Goose
The gray, scalloped appearance of the back and the paler breast is apparent on this second Cackling Goose.
Cackling Goose
The Cackling Goose was only recently recognized as a species distinct from the Canada Goose (2004).  The status and distribution of each goose’s various subspecies remains a topic of discussion and debate.
Compare the bill size and shape, Canada Goose vs. Cackling Goose.
Compare the bill size and shape, Canada Goose to the left and Cackling Goose to the right.
Cackling Goose
A final look at one of two Cackling Goose seen today from Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area’s Willow Point.

There you have it, the three little geese—a Ross’s and two Cackling.  They’re among North America’s smallest of the geese species and seldom are they seen so close together.

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Snow Geese Arriving

With plenty of open water on the main lake and no snow cover on the fields where they graze, Snow Geese have begun arriving at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster/Lebanon Counties.  As long as our mild winter weather continues, more can be expected to begin moving inland from coastal areas to prepare for their spring migration and a return to arctic breeding grounds.

You probably need a break from being indoors all month, so why not get out and have a look?

Hundreds of high-flying Snow Geese descended onto the main lake at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area this afternoon.
Snow Geese and a few Ring-necked Ducks as seen from the Willow Point observation area at Middle Creek this afternoon.
The sound of calling Tundra Swans is music to the ears on an otherwise quiet winter day.
Dozens of Common Mergansers are at Middle Creek W.M.A. right now.
Look carefully and you might see American Black Ducks among the waterfowl in the refuge’s impoundments.
Northern Shovelers have been at Middle Creek since late fall.  If they can continue to access the muddy bottom of the refuge’s lake for food, they’ll stay until the spring migration.
Check those flocks of Canada Geese carefully, sometimes you’ll find something different among them,…
…like this noticeably smaller bird, possibly either a Lesser Canada Goose (Branta canadensis parvipes) or a Richardson’s Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii hutchinsii), the latter being more likely.

Don’t just sit there—don your coat, grab a pair of binoculars, and get out and have a gander!

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