Cacklin' with the big guys - 1
I am not at all sure whether the small goose here is one of the four subspecies of Cackling Geese or if it is just a Lesser Canada Goose. If it is the former, it's likely to be "Branta hutchinsii hutchinsii – Richardson’s (or Hutchins’s) Cackling Goose – which reportedly intergrades with Branta canadensis parvipes throughout range in NWT and Nunavut, but this is uncertain. It is characterized by a small and rather light, pale breast....Richardson’s Cackling Goose (B. h. hutchinsii) nests in Arctic Canada and winters mainly in Texas and Mexico."
These facts would help explain how this little guy passes through Kelowna. I should note, however, that the little one's bill is a bit longer than those of Cacklers I have seen at The Coast, which are apparently a different subspecies from Richardson's....
Cacklin' with the big guys - 1
I am not at all sure whether the small goose here is one of the four subspecies of Cackling Geese or if it is just a Lesser Canada Goose. If it is the former, it's likely to be "Branta hutchinsii hutchinsii – Richardson’s (or Hutchins’s) Cackling Goose – which reportedly intergrades with Branta canadensis parvipes throughout range in NWT and Nunavut, but this is uncertain. It is characterized by a small and rather light, pale breast....Richardson’s Cackling Goose (B. h. hutchinsii) nests in Arctic Canada and winters mainly in Texas and Mexico."
These facts would help explain how this little guy passes through Kelowna. I should note, however, that the little one's bill is a bit longer than those of Cacklers I have seen at The Coast, which are apparently a different subspecies from Richardson's....