Yesterday and today, there have been six cackling geese at Eyrehall, south of
Eastville, in a large flock of Canada geese. To my knowledge, this is the
largest number of cackling geese thus far documented in this county. there have
also been several hybrid geese, including up to six Canada x Snow, in the
county in recent weeks. One of those is at Eyrehall currently.
If history is any guide, there should be an influx of the regular species of
geese, and more, in the days following the blizzard in the Northeast, where
heavy snowfall will make foraging difficult for geese. This would be an ideal
opportunity to study goose flocks carefully for Barnacle, Pink-footed, and
other goose species that are rare but increasingly regular in states just to
our north. Some fascinating hybrid combinations have also been reported in
recent winters just to our north, and ideally such birds could be documented
extensively with photograph. As always, in bad weather, safety comes first,
even before a state first.
Ned Brinkley, Cape Charles, Virginia
Sent from my iPhone
