Declan's Birthday Goose!

On Sunday, December 28th, Declan Jameson Haas, Chris Murray and I saw this rather interesting CANADA GOOSE lounging in a field very near the refuge's visitor center.

Did I mention it was Declan's 1st Birthday? Well, it was. His birding in the morning made him a little tired later in the evening. But like any good Haas man, he put on a fine show for all of his family members who gathered at our home on Sunday night.

Oh yes... the off-colored Canada Goose. I almost forgot. Here are three photos of the goose, which I think is a DUSKY CANADA GOOSE, but I would welcome other's opinion on this bird.

NOTE: I asked some experts, and I got this back from Paul O'Brien:

I'm thinking maybe parvipes. Look at Jonathan Alderfer's discussion in the Complete NG Guide. The ones around Anchorage are quite dark-breasted. Maybe it came east with "You betcha". Note, also, that your bird seems to have a chin stripe, which is common both for parvipes and taverneri. The latter should be noticeably smaller than the other CANG. If we could compare foot sizes we might see that the bird does, indeed, have small feet (parvi-pes). Nice catch!

-PaulFinally, here are some photos from Declan's big birthday birding trip to Blackwater NWR and the party that followed on Sunday night!!!Here is a photo of Declan pointing out a NORTHERN GOSHAWK. I was not successful at locating this particular bird, so Declan adds one more LIFE BIRD to his growing list. The Goshawk is a bird that has thus far eluded his father's eyes. I was hoping to see one this year, but will no doubt enjoy my first meeting with this rare raptor.This is a photo of Chris Murray flushing a SHORT-EARED OWL from the marsh grasses. I really love this part of Maryland. The habitat is just stunning.And here I am pointing out a flock of Snow Geese. Declan already had seen this bird, so requested breakfast instead of standing around and counting geese. It was his birthday, so it was bananas instead of billions of geese.Should this be my last post of 2008, I'd like to take this time to wish you a very happy New Years celebration, and a happy, successful, joyful, prosperous, laughter-filled and love-rich 2009.

Best,

Dan