What you think is a Canada Goose is really as many as 15-20 sub-species. A couple of years ago, the higher ups decided to divide out a half-dozen of the sub-species and call them a separate species. They are now called
Cackling Goose and are a much smaller size, darker color, different calls and are found in more western areas of Canada and the US. I have seen them every so often over the years but have alway been leery of saying any were definitely the Cackling kind.
Even the experts have some disagreement. However, this one has hung around Silver Lake in Rochester all winter and I have had several good looks at it and finally decided that it merited my life list. I have several life lists. Here are the numbers now:
World #347
NA/USA #323
MN #298
Olmsted County #265
These two photos taken with my camera phone yesterday as it tried to beg food from me at my car window.
This photo is of another one that I took a few years ago before they split it off as a separate species. It is next to one of the "Giant Canada Goose" subspecies that we have a lot of around here.
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