If it walks like a ------

And it talks like a ------
What kind of ----is it?

geese

Ok, ok-------once and for all---------is your name DIANE or DIANA??? or are you two different people????--------or do you have a split personality??? or????

Barry

goose

It's a White-fronted Goose..we call them speckles or speckbelly

Latin: Anser albifrons
Average length: M 29", F 27"
Average weight: M 6.2 lbs., F 5.5 lbs.

Description: The white-fronted goose is named for the distinctive white band found at the base of bill. The sexes are similar in appearance, but males typically are larger. The head, neck and upper back of white-fronted geese are grayish-brown. The lower back and rump are dark brown, and the tail is dark brown and edged with white. The chest and breast are grayish with dark brown to black blotches and bars on the breast, giving it the nickname "specklebelly." The belly and upper and lower coverts are white. The bill is pinkish and the legs and feet are orange.



Breeding: White-fronted geese are circumpolar in their breeding distribution. The majority of white-fronted geese in North America breed near the Arctic Circle from Alaska to central Canada. They are solitary breeders and nest on both tidal flats and upland areas, most frequently among tall grass and sedges bordering sloughs and marshes. Female white-fronted geese lay an average of 5 eggs.



Migrating and Wintering: White-fronted geese migrate along the Pacific or Central flyways and winter in California's Central Valley, coastal and mid-continent Mexico and coastal Texas and Louisiana. Winter habitats include coastal marshes, wet meadows and freshwater marshes.



Population: Currently two populations of white-fronted geese are recognized: the Pacific Population and the Mid-Continent Population. Numbers of Pacific Population white-fronted geese have increased steadily over the last decade.



Food habits: The white-fronted goose is primarily a grazer and feeds on marsh grasses, grain crops, tundra plants, aquatic plants and fresh plant growth in fields. They also eat berries, aquatic insects and their larvae.

Table: Considered to be the 'Butterball' of wild geese. Delicious.





The geese above are Canadas..honkers..for a comparison.



We hunt speckles every fall along the Saskatcewan River. Excellent species. Numbers are increasing..as are snow geese.

Judy...just where did you say these geese were?
.
.



[Edited on 5-18-2010 by Pompano]

There you go Judy, Butterball in May.
Start a new trend.

I think I had a goose like that once

Roger
They were in the estuary last week. I have been seeing a gaggle of them around for months

OK so if it walks like a goose

I copy that, Judy. Rather unusual for whitefronts to be in Baja Sur and the Cortez. Not their normal migration or flyway. I have only seen one in Baja, which was right here in Coyote Bay in 1988. I got the out video camera and filmed the on the water in front of mi casa.. and I was amazed when I did.

I am very fortunate to be underneath a huge migration of these wonderful waterfowl every September as they begin thier southward flights from northern Canada.

That's one to put in your birder's book.