Erika and I took this photo of a Snow Goose on 13 December 2019 at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. This bird does not appear to be the same individual that we saw there on 7 November. We saw another single bird during the refuge Christmas Count on 17 December. More interesting to me was the Cackling Goose behind the Snow Goose. Because of its white neck collar, I wondered if this bird could be the rare Aleutian Goose. At least four races of Cackling Geese are described. This bird is probably not an Aleutian Goose, since that race’s neck collar is usually complete, wide, and prominent. Also, the white cheek patches are small and not connected on the throat on an Aleutian Goose.
Richardson’s Geese, another of the races, usually does not show a white neck band. The two remaining subspecies are called Cackling and Taverner’s geese. I am not sure which of the races this bird is. I lean towards Cackling Goose because of its short neck. Taverner’s Goose is supposed to have a rounder head and even a more stubby bill—but these two field marks are both variable and subjective (Mowbray et al. 2002).
Richardson’s Geese, another of the races, usually does not show a white neck band. The two remaining subspecies are called Cackling and Taverner’s geese. I am not sure which of the races this bird is. I lean towards Cackling Goose because of its short neck. Taverner’s Goose is supposed to have a rounder head and even a more stubby bill—but these two field marks are both variable and subjective (Mowbray et al. 2002).
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