Mark Scallion and I were treated to a view of a Barnacle Goose at
2:00 p.m. today on the grounds of the Pickering Creek Audubon Center in
Talbot County near Easton.  The bird was close to the entrance lane in the
field across the lane from the wetland ponds.  It was near the edge of a
flock of over 4000 Canada Geese, and stayed around long enough for me to get
a brief binocs view which showed a metal band on the left leg of the bird.
There was no band on the right leg.
	I learned that there had been a previously unreported sighting of
this bird last Sunday.  At that time, the bird was in a field of a Pickering
Creek neighbor to the east - that field is bounded on two sides by Sharp
Road.  On Sunday, E.B. James of Pickering Creek first spotted the bird and
reported it to Mark.  Mark and his wife, Susanna, went back with E.B. at
that time and successfully relocated the bird.
	This Barnacle was quite a bit smaller than the Canada Geese near it,
and the back was clearly gray rather than brown.  The black of the neck was
uniform in color and extended down the breast.  Dark eye line and white on
the sides of the face could be very clearly seen.
	The large flock of Canada Geese has been staying on or near the
Pickering Creek grounds or the grounds of the neighbor for the past couple
of weeks, since those places provide safety away from the hunters that are
pretty active elsewhere in the region.

Les Roslund

Talbot County
Easton, MD