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Subject:

Cackling Goose again in Howard County

From:

Joe Byrnes

Reply-To:

Maryland Birds & Birding

Date:

Thu, 11 Nov 2004 14:24:29 -0500

After Bob Ringler posted seeing two Cackling Geese on Monday (on Old
Frederick Road in farm field just south of Camden Meadows Court in Howard
County/DeLorme 56,B3), Jeff Culler and I decided to do some serious Goose
watching.  Bob Ringler and Dave Harvey saw their geese around noon.  Monday
afternoon we checked the field and pond for an hour or so just before dark
without success. 

 

Today Jeff and I began at that spot about 8:30 am and there were no geese.
We prowled around the general area much of the morning, searching a number
of large flocks of Canada Geese with a couple of prospects (runts/young
birds?), but the bill shape wasn't right.  Finally at 11:45 am we went back
to the original site and saw one Cackling (Richardson) Goose in the pond
just south of the large field.  We needed scopes standing along the fence
just south Rt. 144.

 

We may have been lucky, but then again, noon at this spot might be
promising?  There may have been about 100 geese there, but many were hard to
see because of the terrain, a fence and shrubs along the water. 

 

We had definitive views of the bird's size, stubby bill, short neck, and
almost square head shape.  Bob said his Richardson Geese had paler backs,
but because of lighting, we could not really see that.

 

Good luck,

-Joe