Greetings All

So, yesterday I had a fabulous day birding with Doug Schonewald and Bob
Flores in glorious sunlight. Remember what that is. Warm thing is sky casting
light. I'd forgotten.

Anyway, highlights are as follows

Moses Lake:
28 Black-crowned Night-Herons
22 minima Cackling Geese
3 Thayer's Gulls

Soap Lake:
4 Least Sandpipers

Sun Lakes:
Harlan's Hawk
Winter Wren
3 Mew Gulls
Thayer's Gull

Blue Lake:
Thayer's Gull

Banks Lake:
3 Thayer's Gulls
1 Mew Gull
1 Pacific Loon
54 Red-breasted Mergansers
3 Trumpeter Swans
large numbers of Horned Grebes, Common Mergansers, and Hooded Mergansers (all
relatively speaking).
at Osborne Bay, -- Harris's Sparrow
RICHARDSON'S CACKLING GOOSE - 6 at Steamboat Rock

Regarding the ID of Cacking Geese by race: this is not for the faint of
heart, requires much practice, and the recollection that many birds will not be
identifiable.

The Richardson's Geese were all stereotypical of type. Substantially smaller
than nearby Lesser Canadas, white breasted, square-headed, small-billed,
short-necked. These birds are also noticeably smaller than a Greater White-fronted
Goose in the area.

Why not Taverner's. The head shape combined with bill shape and small size.
Especially given that this was true for all 6 birds. Runt Lesser Canada Geese
are possible, but should not show the head/bill shape of these birds.

Don Kraege of WDFW tells me that many (most?) of the Columbia Basin Mallards
migrate in from the Prairie Provinces and so do some (many?) Moffitt Canada
Geese. Given that there is substantial east to west movement of waterfowl into
the Columbia Basin, the occurrence of Richardson's Goose (along with previous
records of Giant Canada Goose, regular occurrence of Ross's Goose, etc) should
perhaps not be such a big surprise.

Best Wishes
Steven Mlodinow