Crozet, VA 1/3/2024

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

Old Trail

This must be the year of the goose in some ancient calendar. On November 28, 2022, I saw a Ross's Goose here in Old Trail. On December 6, I saw a Graylag x Canada hybrid goose, and then a Snow Goose on January 1. This morning, I hiked around the golf course pond, and when I got up close to the #1 golf fairway, I looked back across the pond and saw both large and small Canada Geese. The common subspecies of Canada Geese can be as long as 45 inches (bill tip to tail tip), but the significantly smaller lesser subspecies can be as small as about 25 inches in length. There formerly was the Richardson's subspecies that is scarce and even smaller, but this subspecies is now considered as its own species and is called Cackling Geese. Although the common and lesser Canada Geese differ mostly in size only, Cackling Geese have a shorter and stubbier bill. When there are a flock of lesser Canada Geese, I look to see if there might be one or more Cackling Geese mixed in with them. I turned around, hiked back along the trail, and then hiked about 100 yards off the trail so I could get a better look. Sure enough, there was a Cackling Goose.

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Cackling Goose and common Canada Goose