The reported Snow Goose at Denver City Park

[Tony Leukering]

Hi all:

Back in December, I saw a goose at Denver City Park that I identified as a Snow x Cackling Goose hybrid: ML647525562 - Snow x Cackling Goose (hybrid) - Macaulay Library

This bird looks somewhat superficially like a juv Snow Goose, but juvs of blue Snow Geese are entirely dark (ML650527380 - Snow Goose - Macaulay Library) while juvs of white Snow Geese are mostly white (ML650779634 - Snow Goose - Macaulay Library), lacking my bird's mostly dark upperparts. A bird looking very much like this one was also reported from the South Platte River in Denver in late January.

I've also seen photos of a white goose in Washington Park that looks like a Snow x Ross's Goose hybrid, given the extensive blackish base to the small bill on a bird with a distinct grin patch.

Hybrids are something to consider when looking at white geese in Denver in winter, where neither Snow nor Ross's is at all common. In my experience, hybrid geese are nearly as likely in the county as pure Snow or Ross's, at least in winter.

Happy Birding,

Tony Leukering

Denver