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To my surprise and relief, the Nature Vancouver group this morning neither drowned nor froze: the cold weather seems to have held off, and our three hours at Jericho Park were rain-free–even if dim and damp.<\/p>\n
The big news of the morning was geese. Thirty-four Cackling Geese <\/strong>were on the beach when I arrived, and a couple lingered or returned, scofflaw dog owners notwithstanding, for us all to study at leisure later in the morning. Conveniently, the birds we saw best were mixed with Canada Geese<\/strong>, giving us great opportunities for close-up comparison.<\/p>\n A slightly shyer flock of 13 cacklers out on the grass included a striking leucistic individual.<\/p>\n Odd white patches are very common in Canada Geese<\/strong>, but this was the first time any of us had ever seen a Cackling Goose <\/strong>like this one.<\/p>\n There was more anserine fun in store. Bev picked half a dozen Snow Geese <\/strong>out of a Branta <\/em>flock high overhead, an infrequent sight here in urban Vancouver. And two adult Greater White-fronted Geese <\/strong>flying circles over the duck pond were even “better” by local standards. It could be an exciting winter at Jericho.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To my surprise and relief, the Nature Vancouver group this morning neither drowned nor froze: the cold weather seems to have held off, and our three hours at Jericho Park were rain-free–even if dim and damp. The big news of the morning was geese. Thirty-four Cackling Geese were on the beach when I arrived, and … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/farm2.static.flickr.com\/1431\/5106156292_ce2bd58fae.jpg\")
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