RobinHood

Agree with Common Goldeneye - sloping forehead and large bill. You can also see where the rest of the white face circle is starting to appear - quite often the partial circle matches a Barrow's for a while.

Understood, but I was trying to keep it wide open for any kind of Cackling or possibly Lesser Canada (which I see referenced in texts and guides but doesn't seem to be an option on eBird) across the continent. From the responses here it seems everyone would report them as Canada Goose.

Thanks Paul, this is what I was getting at but didn't want to influence the responses. I knew none of these qualified as Richardson's (the local sub-species) but wondered if they were observed maybe on the west coast how they would be reported. I suspect most of these are probably/possibly Lesser Canada but I don't think it is an option on eBird at the moment, although the Ssp is shown in both my NatGeo and Sibley guides (whereas Greater Canada is still an option). A couple with more wedge shaped bills in this group could possibly be considered for Taverner's but beyond my pay grade. There are a few reports on the east side of the US, two of these in the NY Finger Lakes area (not far from me) and one Rhode Island. Two of the reports are interesting for the discussion of options and one shows some birds with fairly large bills. I could vaguely remember a comment on this forum about small Canada Geese being reported in one of the states (maybe Michigan) as Cackling/Canada for future consideration as Lesser, I may have got that wrong. New York State report: https://ebird.org/checklist/S80623374 Rhode Island report: https://ebird.org/checklist/S62507849 I'll take a look at the references you provided, much appreciated.

It helps if you press Submit Reply.

Possibly the closest (I've added a crop) but I don't think any of them qualify, certainly locally. The reason for the post, I was wondering if any of the sub-species of Cackling elsewhere in NA can have a slightly longer bill (I could vaguely remember something about this from the west coast birders). Whenever I come across a group like this they are almost like a tight family unit and stay away from the other Canada Geese. They are typically half the size of the Canadas, short necks, blocky heads but the bills don't qualify.

A very late young Blue-winged Teal yesterday (complementary colours and nice swirls).

Southern Ontario a few days ago. This small group of geese (about 20) flew in and landed adjacent to hundreds of Canada Geese. They were significantly smaller, shorter necked etc. and stayed remote. This happens occasionally and I just wondered how you would report them in your part of the world. Thanks

Try cropping a little to the left of the OOF blob so there is more space in the direction the bird is looking and lose most of the space above the bird (maybe 16 x 10). See what you think. It would be nice to have even more space on the RHS but it seems you would have to do some photoshopping.

I was watching this pair in action yesterday, unfortunately terrible lighting and way up high. I was researching their life cycle and came across this video which other Raven admirers might like (calls and behaviour). https://www.birdnote.org/explore/sights-sounds/video/2015/02/common-raven-chatter-and-some-comfort-sounds

Good call. I added the wrong photo for the eBird post (link below) which I think is what you prefer. I wasn't looking for ratings, one more is fine, just comments on the delicate art of cropping. https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/524727331

First post on this thread for me so be gentle (I'm looking forward to checking out all of the posts when I have time, maybe now as it just started snowing). For me cropping is almost always the most important step in editing, especially with bird photos when there are often so many distracting elements, and can sometimes be a delicate balance. For waterfowl I often have lots of foreground and decent space in front of the bird. You would think this particular photo would be straightforward (no distractions) but the crop I posted on eBird, second image, got minimal response (eventually one rating plus mine). I thought at the time the wake was worth emphasizing but I think it perhaps spoiled the balance of the photo. Ignore other editing aspects, I didn't spend much time on it, as this is just about cropping. Comments appreciated and an improved crop if reasonably different from those posted. I've included the original uncropped image, the one I posted on eBird and the crop I would normally use.

I believe you are correct on both counts, pretty distinctive bird, but wait for confirmation from our western birders.

Looks like a male Cooper's to me but wait for more opinions.

Moulting from juvenile to adult plumage perhaps (still has a dark bill with white starting to appear on the head), the transition stages can be interesting.