Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 16:43:01 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Walter Ellison Subject: Great Great Oak Pd geese - Ross's, White-front, etc. MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi All, I had to do an errand at noon in Chestertown and birded my way back = home; stopping at two places John Hanson Rd and Great Oak Pond.=20 The geese were in force on Great Oak Pond. It seems the pattern for them = is to drop in during the afternoon to drink and loaf after feeding on = waste corn in the surrounding fields along Handy Point, Great Oak = Landing and Fish Hatchery Rds. Their presence is unfortunatley not a = guaranteed thing, but, in my second fall here I think they are more = reliable in the area early in the season right after the corn harvest. = The majority of these geese seem to move on to other areas by late = November. Today's highlights were - two adult ROSS'S GEESE, and an adult = GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. One of the Ross's Geese (an individual with = a very warty base of the bill) was in a family group with its mate and = offspring - a Lesser Snow Goose and a perfect hybrid immature Ross's X = Snow. I also found an adult hybrid Ross's X Snow.=20 The white-front had a pale pinkish orange bill with the classic white = forehead and face bounded by a straight dark line running vertically = down through the eye. It was found swimming nearby to an adult Canada X = Greater White-fronted hybrid. The latter bird had an extensive white = forehead, lores and chinstrap under the bill flecked with black along = the edge, the crown was black, the cheeks (auriculars) were whitish with = extensive gray-brown spotting, the bill was blue-gray at the base with = pinkish sides washed with blue-gray and a blue-gray nail. The neck was = solid gray-brown. Most of the body was also dark gray-brown, most = similar to neighboring Canadas and lacking the fine white fringes shown = by white-fronteds. The undertail coverts were extensively white (similar = in extent and pattern to the neighboring white-front), and the tail was = black.=20 Amongst the 4000 Canada Geese on the scene there were three Richardson's = (Canada) Geese. Snow Geese numbered 750 with 6 Blue morphs. Other = waterfowl present included 4 Northern Pintail, 2 Green-winged Teal, 2 = Am. Black Ducks, 6 Ring-necked Ducks, and 5 Ruddy Ducks. I had met Marcia Balestri in town to deliver some MOS materials to her = she accompanied me to the aeration pond at John Hanson Rd where we = encountered Gail Regester and her daughter. The pond had 150 Northern = Shovelers, 7 Caspian Terns, 1 Blue-winged Teal, 105 Ruddy Ducks, and 4 = Green-winged Teal. All of the hybrids makes one wonder about goose (and waterfowl) = evolution. In particular the intergeneric hybrids that keep showing up = between Anser (Graylag & white-front) and Branta (Canada) makes one = wonder about genera in waterfowl. Why such will nilly interbreeding in = such a venerable and assumedly well-set group like waterfowl? Good Birding,=20 Walter Ellison 23460 Clarissa Road Chestertown, MD 21620 phone: 410-778-9568 e-mail: rossgull@crosslink.net "A person who is looking for something doesn't travel very fast" - E. B. = White (in "Stuart Little") =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D =========================================================================