A bit of caution, as Alan points out with the question mark following Cackling Goose title to his post, Canada Geese come in many sizes. So it is not a sure bet to assign a smaller goose identification to Cackling Goose. Since the split of Cackling Goose, giving it "full species status", interest in and reports of Cackling Geese (CACG) have increased dramatically. Before that fateful day, we simply would note "Canada Goose (small size)" or something similar to that; or simply ignore the littler one and move on. Since the elevation to species level,finding CACG in an enormous flock of Canada Geese has become a quest in itself. And here is where that caution should prevail. As it turns out from careful scrutiny of CACG reports with sufficient documentation (usually photos), we can now assume that most small size "white chin" geese in our area are indeed Cackling Geese. But not always. So it is still important to look for, note, and document any smaller white-chin geese to see if, and how often, the smaller subspecies of Canada Geese occur in our area. Yeah, not as exciting as adding another species to the day's trip list, but, for the record, just as important.

Rich Guthrie

New Baltimore

The Greening County,

New York