Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 19:43:26 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "Laura M. Appelbaum" Subject: Greater White-Fronted Goose at Artemesia MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit A friend and I went out late this afternoon (around 4 PM Thursday) to Lake Artemesia to look for the reported GWFG. We scanned many large groups of Canada Geese out in the middle of the lake, but it wasn't there. As we walked around to the far side of the lake (close to the Paint Branch Trail), there was a group of geese right at the edge of the water eating crackers a child was throwing at them ... and one of them was *not* a CG. We were able to walk right over, within an arms length and get a really, really good look (unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera -- we'll go back tomorrow and try to get a shot). Here's what we saw ... he was very pale with very little banding and only the trace of a few white feathers at the top of his beak, so he's either a very immature specimen or a domestic goose that has all of us fooled. Legs and feet were orange. His bill was orangey-pink with a distinctly white cast to the end of his bill -- not bright white but clearly paler than the rest of the bill. Eyes were dark with a very thin orangey ring around them. There were dark vertical lines along his neck. It's "butt" was very thick and white with a vague bluish-cast. In size, it was just a little smaller than the Canada Geese. We had the National Geographic Guide with us, but now that I'm home looking at Sibley, I see mention of such field marks as a gray upper wing and a white tip on the tail, which we didn't know to look for -- hopefully it'll still be there tomorrow. Also at Lake Artemesia were Pied-Bill Grebes, Ruddy Ducks, Mallards, American Coots, White-Throated Sparrow, and Red-Winged Blackbirds singing their hearts out atop all the trees. Oh, and the spring peepers were singing like wild. Laura Appelbaum Cloverly, MD ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================