Cackling Goose Branta hutchinsii
Cunningham Pond
Maple, ON
6 November 2014
For many years there was considerable debate and disagreement among
taxonomists about the various races and subspecies of Canada Goose Branta canadensis.
taxonomists about the various races and subspecies of Canada Goose Branta canadensis.
In July 2004 Cackling Goose was recognized as a valid species by the American Ornithologists Union, followed by similar action by the British Ornithologists Union in June 2005.
The front cover of Volume 1 of Ducks, Geese and Swans (Oxford University Press) depicts a Cackling Goose alongside a Canada Goose, although at the time of publication (2005), they were not acknowledged as two species in the text.
During fall migration in Ontario, if one scans flocks of Canada Geese carefully, there is always the possibility of turning up a few Cackling Geese, but it requires patience. The two species migrate together from their breeding grounds in Western Canada and Alaska.
I was delighted to find a single bird with a large flock of Canada Geese at Cunningham Pond in Maple yesterday.
