I put a handful of photos of the Ridgefield NWR BARNACLE GOOSE online at:
http://www.scottcarpenterphotography.com/barnacle

Photos 1-15 show the BARNACLE GOOSE from various angles under various
lighting conditions. One shows it eyeing a flyover Northern Harrier, much
like the nearby Cacklers did. The photos also show both the hind toe on
both the left and right legs.

Photos 16-22 show the presumed BARNACLE X minima CACKLING GOOSE hybrid.
Note the changes in breast color depending on the angle/lighting. Except
for the head, this bird looked just like the minima Cackling with which it
was feeding. Jim Danzenbaker originally saw this presumed hybrid, along
with another one like it, in the same flock as the pure BARNACLE GOOSE. The
flock separated when one of several eagles made a casual pass. The behavior
of both of these birds was what I would expect from a wild bird.

Yesterday was an official goose survey day at the refuge, where all portions
of the refuge are surveyed simultaneously in order to count all the races of
white-cheeked geese. Although not part of the official survey yesterday, I
was there in the afternoon, and I checked every flock of white-cheeked geese
in search of an Aleutian cackler (without success). It seems logical to
assume that the pure BARNACLE and two presumed hybrids showed up today. The
fact that these three birds are flying together certainly points to the
possibility that the two presumed hybrids are offspring of the pure BARNACLE
GOOSE.

A big thank you to Alex Chmielewski, Bob Flores, and Jim Danzenbaker for
getting the word out so quickly.

--
Scott Carpenter
Portland, Oregon
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