There was a bonafide Cackling Goose at Belle Haven marina (VA) couple of
years ago, found by Barry and myself, and well-photographed by Jon Alderfer.
It was not only very small, it had a deep purplish breast which blended into
the black neck. There was a thin white collar around the base of the black
neck. There were other features which differed quite a bit from the more
common small "Richardson's" Goose. It stood out immediately when first seen.
While it was positively ID'd as a Cackling Goose, we were told by Mary
Gustafson that these are common in captivity so the record was never
submitted. Now that the species has been split, we may put the record in (to
VA records committee) just to establish occurrence in this area.

Gail Mackiernan
Colesville, MD

on 07/22/2004 9:48 PM, David Mozurkewich at  wrote:

> Is there a good reference for identifying the subspecies of Canada Goose?
> Does anyone know which subspecies of Canada Goose occur in Maryland and
> what are the relative abundances?
>
> Now that we are talking about Cackling Goose being a bona fide species, I
> expect to see an increase in interest of identifying these critters.  And
> at least initially, I expect to see a large increase in the number of
> reports of misidentified birds.
>
<snip>