RobinHood Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 Southern Georgian Bay today. A white and a dark, quite distant so heavy crop. A pair of Ross's (both white) had been seen at this location the previous day but these birds "appeared" to be quite large and the bills looked larger than I have seen on Ross's. The other birders there at the time were comfortable with Ross's but I just wanted to check. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phalarope713 Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 Definitely a Snow Goose. Note the large size and hefty bill with a prominent grin patch. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneat Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 Agree with Snow Goose. A Ross's Goose would be noticeably smaller than the surrounding Canada Geese and would have a shorter and stubbier bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexHenry Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 13 minutes ago, RobinHood said: The other birders there at the time were comfortable with Ross's but I just wanted to check. Some birders gonna be putting fake Ross' Goose on their life lists..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiley Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 32 minutes ago, AlexHenry said: Some birders gonna be putting fake Ross' Goose on their life lists..... That's concerning. This bird is obviously a Snow. Not even a hybrid candidate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexHenry Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 (edited) 17 minutes ago, akiley said: That's concerning. This bird is obviously a Snow. Not even a hybrid candidate. Ah well, we all make mistakes. I'd be lying if I said I was 100% sure about my lifer Northwestern Crow... Although, I've never really gotten why people find the Snow vs Ross' ID difficult given good looks. Edited March 18, 2020 by AlexHenry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinHood Posted March 18, 2020 Author Share Posted March 18, 2020 Thanks everyone. I suggested to the other birders it might be worth waiting to see what others came up with later in the day as the birds were quite distant. I haven't seen many Snow before (make that two) but I did get up close and personal with a pair of Ross's that hung around for a few weeks last Winter so I was pretty sure I was correct. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 2 hours ago, Phalarope713 said: prominent grin patch. 'Prominent' is a good word; I can see it without even expanding the photo. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinHood Posted March 18, 2020 Author Share Posted March 18, 2020 2 hours ago, AlexHenry said: Some birders gonna be putting fake Ross' Goose on their life lists..... Maybe not in this particular case - Ross's Geese are tagged so have to be confirmed (myself and one other, so far, reported Snow) so we will see. I actually went to find the Greater White-fronted reported at the same time but it was long gone (so much for my vow not to chase after new species - twice this year so far)!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 4 minutes ago, RobinHood said: so much for my vow not to chase after new species I did that only once, Aug '19 or so. Roseate Spoonbill. Never again; too stressful. I bird to relax, not to compete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinHood Posted March 18, 2020 Author Share Posted March 18, 2020 6 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said: I did that only once, Aug '19 or so. Roseate Spoonbill. Never again; too stressful. I bird to relax, not to compete. Absolutely agree - I was starting to get caught up in the madness (although the Northern Hawk Owl was worth a 90 minute drive). My new rule is 30 minutes maximum and only for something really interesting. I will report back at the end of the year as to how I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinHood Posted March 18, 2020 Author Share Posted March 18, 2020 4 hours ago, RobinHood said: these birds Honestly not trying to drag this out but I just realized no-one commented on the dark one behind. I assumed it was a juvenile (Sibley says Aug. to Jan.) about to hit adulthood but as I said I don't have much experience with Snow Geese so "sub-adult" maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefferson Shank Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 agree with all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexHenry Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 5 hours ago, RobinHood said: Honestly not trying to drag this out but I just realized no-one commented on the dark one behind. I assumed it was a juvenile (Sibley says Aug. to Jan.) about to hit adulthood but as I said I don't have much experience with Snow Geese so "sub-adult" maybe. Didn’t even notice that. That is also a Snow Goose, a younger dark bird as you suggest. Dark Ross’ are rare, even in places where there are thousands of Ross’. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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