I went over to Lake Frank around noon to see if I could relocate the
Cackling Goose found by Diane Ford yesterday. Things were pretty quiet with
only a few Hooded Mergansers, Mallards, a few Ring-necked Ducks and a single
Common Merganser.

On the way back home I stopped near corner of Southlawn and E Gude to view
the crows, starlings and Ring-billed Gulls that congregate at the Rockville
cardboard/waste paper transfer station (at least I think that's what it is).
Nothing unusual until I noticed maybe 250-300 Canada Geese flying in loose
groups of 10 to 35 or 40 and heading in my direction. Among them were 3
noticeably smaller geese with faster wing-beats. These 3 birds kept tightly
together with themselves but a couple of times crossed underneath a larger
group of Canadas so I really had a good look at the size difference. The
flocks (including the CACKLING) all turned west, spilled some altitude and
headed towards the large grass fields surrounding the Natural Gas facility.

I checked the grass fields around the gas facility from Dover, Old Dover Rds
as well Westmore Rd and at another place off E Gude behind the Rexal
Lighting showroom but could not relocate the Cackling Geese on the ground
among the Canadas. There are some parts of the field you just can't see from
the roads due to hills and swales.

Also picked out a Killdeer while searching for the Cackling Geese.

Sorry for the longish post but I am just a bit excited as this is the first
time I have found some Cackling Geese among a larger group of Canada Geese
in flight despite checking many flocks in the years since they split the
species. Now if I could only find the right evergreen with a saw-whet owl
roosting inside......

Andy Martin
Gaithersburg