Hi Mike, et al.:

If the bird is of a non-Greenland origin, then it would be of 
interest to the MD/DC Records Committee.

For starters, Greenland form (Anser albifrons flavirostris) has an 
orange bill and "western" forms (frontalis / gambeli / elgasi) have 
pinkish bills. There are other more subtle differences, too. Due to 
the similarity of the three western species, the MD/DCRC treats the 
three together as "western" (or "non-flavirostris) Greater 
White-fronted Geese and reviews them as subspecies/forms unusual to our region.

Unfortunately, I can't see to find a good authoritative web site that 
succinctly summarizes the difference and provides images; the best I 
can do right now is Wikipedia ...

         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-fronted_Goose

Thanks!

Phil


At 18:14 12/03/2008, Michael Ostrowski wrote:
>Hi all,
>    This evening I stopped briefly at the glorified drainage ditch 
> on the corner of Brewer House Rd and Tuckerman Ln in North 
> Bethesda. I was shocked to find a single Greater White-fronted 
> Goose there with about 115 Canada Geese. In addition to observing 
> the bird's white band, size, and shape, I was fortunate to get a 
> good look at the black barring on the belly as the bird stood on 
> the shore briefly during the 15 minutes I was there.
>
>    The bird was still present when I left at 4:55 pm. I'll try to 
> stop by tomorrow before work and post an update at around 9.
>
>Mike Ostrowski
>North Bethesda, MD
>

===================================================
Phil Davis, Secretary
MD/DC Records Committee
2549 Vale Court
Davidsonville, Maryland  21035     USA
301-261-0184
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MD/DCRC Web site:  http://www.MDBirds.org/mddcrc/rcindex.html
===================================================