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| Richardson's cackling goose (left) and Canada goose |
I decided on a short walk today. I had been thinking about going over to Southport on a wild goose chase but I'd seen reports of a Richardson's cackling goose on Lowercroft Reservoir in Bury so I got a tram and a bus over to Lowercroft Road and walked down.
I hadn't got far when I got into conversation about little egrets with a lady and her very bouncy collie. As we were talking my first three swifts of the year flew over.
I passed through the gate into a field of cows by the reservoir and had a scan round. Lots of Canada geese about but nothing unusual. Mind you, I wasn't sure what I was looking for, it's not a species I've seen before, not even in bird collections. Every goose that looked like it might be smaller than the others I looked at twice. Then I looked in the field next to me.
A Richardson's cackling goose is not a scaled-down Canada goose, it's more like a lesser white-fronted goose in Canada goose colours. It was feeding in a field with a couple of Canada geese and the difference between them was an eye-opener.
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| Richard's cackling goose (left) and Canada goose |
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| Richard's cackling goose |
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| Richard's cackling goose (centre) and Canada geese |
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| Richard's cackling goose (front) and Canada goose |
A lifer for me. I "only" need to see red-breasted goose and lesser white-fronted goose in the wild for the full set from the British List.
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