Subject: [Tweeters] Goose at Montlake Fill (UBNA) - Lesser White-fronted
Date: Feb 12 19:21:21 2008
From: Brett Wolfe - m_lincolnii at yahoo.com


Hi tweets,

I was down at the Union Bay Natural Area (UBNA) at the same time as John and Greg. I first spotted some birds in the trees northwest of the central pond, where there are a few crabapples. I got very close to the bird (~10m) and the 5 Canadas it was with. A few minutes later, I noted two gentlemen hurrying over with scopes and cameras. I recognized Greg (but misremember your last name - sorry! I myself am unrecognizeable to most folks now that I cut off all my hair..)) and introduced myself to John. Anyway, here is what I noted:

Very small bird, maybe 1/2 the size of the Canada's it is associating with; nice white lateral stripe; only 2-3 dark spots on belly, breast very plain patterned; white under tail coverts up to the legs; beak is all orange except for a black tip; legs orange; wings protrude approx. 2 inches past tail; pale yellow eye-ring, very narrow; has white at base of bill surrounded by darker feathers.
Now I have been looking at internet images of both the Lesser & Greater White-fronted Geese (LWFG & GWFG). My impressions are that most LWFG pictures I see show the white at the base of the bill extending well up to the forehead, as in the photos here: http://www.kolkatabirds.com/lesserwfrontedgoose8ac.jpg and here: http://www.sofnet.org/bildarkiv/Stevebilder/revbilder/fjallgas2.jpg

Note how bright the eye ring is in both pictures. Then compare those to the photos that John should be able to post soon (btw John, I love that your email addy is gg allin!). I also found this comparison of drawings of both species side by side: http://www.metsa.fi/image.asp?Image=Att5219%5Cwebatt_20061016_123710_841189.jpg That same website has a nice write up of how to compare LWFG vs GWFG, and one thing that it mentions is that the Lesser has a red bill, not orange. It further states that a few GWFG have a yellow eye-ring, but it is thinner and paler. Then again, it mentions that the LWFG has wings protruing beyond the tail, but nothing about whether or not the GWFG does the same.

From all of this, my opinion would be first for a small GWFG. I also wonder about a possible hybrid, as it does seem to have characteristics that are applied to one or the other. I am certainly no expert on this area of birding detail, and welcome others interpretations of what John, Greg and I were able to see late this afternoon. Cheers!

Brett A. Wolfe
Seattle, WA
m_lincolnii at yahoo.com or bushtit at u.washington.edu



Adam Sedgley <AdamS at seattleaudubon.org> wrote:
Just got off the phone with John Puschock, who is down at UBNA (Montlake Fill). He is looking at the unusual goose and called to relay the following details to Tweeters. (I apologize John if I missed something)

- clearing smaller than the five Canada Goose it is associating with
- eye-ring visible but not pronounced
- white at base of the bill
- legs and bill are orange
- white band below the wings and above the flanks
- it has NO leg band

There is still a little light left so go down and take a look. It's in the seasonal pond to the north of the main pond, which I believe is called "Shoveler pond".

Cheers,
Adam Sedgley
adams at seattleaudubon.org


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