2009 in review and au revoir Whitey

Chris and Mike got a little more serious as birders this year. We started slowly just observing the water fowl on the lake that we enjoy living on and the woodpeckers and other birds in the trees. We did take our first birding vacation to Cape May in the spring and continued with several day trips. We finally saw a red-headed woodpecker and a blue grosbeak. Now, we usually take the "birding camera" on vacation, although we try to spend more time in the sun and the sand with a drink in my hand.

One change this year is Whitey's departure. She was a daily fixture on the lake for our first two years here. We haven't seen her since the spring. She was semi-domesticated, hanging out with the Canada Geese and then coming into our yard to follow Chris around while she was gardening. She'd notice the lights going on in the morning and swim over asking for a snack. She could only fly 50 feet or so and didn't migrate. We're pretty sure she was a domestic Chinese Swan Goose. She may have left a legacy: some interesting hybrid geese spend a month or two here late summer and fall.

Au Revoir Whitey.

The odd couple

Whitey seems to pair up with a Canada Goose each fall.

Brant at Sandy Hook

It was a nice day today so we decided to go to Sandy Hook. We were hoping to see some migrating bufflehead, but they didn't show. We did see the ruby head of the ruby-headed kinglet but didn't get a picture. We also saw some brant, a small goose.

Geese

The Canada Geese are by far the most numerous waterfowl on the lake. They can be a bit of a nuisance and are the reason that most people have fences on the lakefront.

Canada Goose

"Whitey," as we call her, is a white goose. We aren't sure what type of goose she is. At first, we thought she was a snow goose, but the snow goose has a much different shape to its beak. Whitey is more domesticated than the other geese and we speculate that she may have been a domestic goose that is now out in the wild. It's hard to call her wild. She seems to enjoy handouts more than the wild geese. She notices when the first light goes on in the morning and appears just in case we have something. She'll get up on the dock and attempt to join in a snack or a conversation. She'll get involved in our yard work.

Whitey

Some neighbors have told us that in the past she's laid eggs and had goslings. There don't appear to be any this year. We have seen her mating with the Canada geese. So that brings up the question as to why there are some geese with white heads but mostly Canada Goose markings. We've read that Canada Geese can interbreed with Snow Geese and produce goslings with similar markings. We don't know if these are Whitey's offspring.

Hybrid Goose?

Below is another goose with unusual markings (at least to us). The goose above is the same size as the Canada Goose. The one below is noticeably larger, but hangs out with Whitey often as well as the Canada Geese.

Hybrid Goose?

Whitey and the larger hybrid goose

All Together Now

We really don't know what is going on. If you do, leave a comment (by clicking on the word comments below as in "0 comments" or "1 comment").

Green-winged Teal & Canada Goose

Another very exciting morning! We started looking early hoping to see the Wood Ducks again. One was here yesterday but barely for a minute. At first Chris didn't see anything other than geese, but did a quick scan over the lake with the binoculars in case. Well, good thing! Of course the "new duck" alert went into effect. There were two male Green-winged Teals hanging around for about a half hour. Isn't he just adorably small in comparison to the goose! It was sort of a gray morning, and we didn't find these little guys to be very photogenic, but this we thought was good enough to post.