Blue Morph Ross's Goose at Monte Vista NWR

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Taylor Long

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Mar 14, 2016, 5:23:40 PM3/14/16
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Yesterday morning (3/13) while admiring the multitudes of Sandhill Cranes at Monte Vista NWR, I came across what I believe is a "blue" morph of a Ross's Goose in my scope. I'm curious what this group thinks. Are these unusual?


-Taylor Long
Denver, CO

Taylor Long

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Mar 14, 2016, 5:49:46 PM3/14/16
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Nicholas Komar had some feedback on Facebook about the identity of this bird:

Interesting goose. The black tail, all white neck and head, and curved base of the bill are all wrong for Ross's goose. This is most likely a hybrid between Ross's goose and Richardson's cackling goose. These hybrids are actually more common in Colorado than dark phase Ross's goose, which is indeed very rare.

This being a hybrid makes sense to me, but I'm no expert. What do others think?

Ira Sanders

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Mar 14, 2016, 7:25:12 PM3/14/16
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I have seen only one or two. They are somewhat  unusual.

Ira Sanders

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Matthew Baker

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Mar 14, 2016, 10:27:12 PM3/14/16
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Looks like the same type of bird that turned up at Sloan's Lake in 2014 (and spent some time at Wash Park ) that was deemed a hybrid (though some lucky birders got to count it as a Ross'!)

John Sterling found a 'true' blue-Ross' recently out in California:

https://sterlingbirds.smugmug.com/Recent-Photos/i-NbQ4sVQ

Matt Baker
Denver, CO

Matthew Baker

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Mar 14, 2016, 11:11:08 PM3/14/16
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Ooops could have sworn Sterling had that labeled a Ross'

Here's some info I was sent back in 2014 from a birder in SD:

Story and photos: http://wildphotosphotography.com/WildPhotos/RossGoose/BMRoss.htm

And comment: "The dimorphism of Snow Geese is pretty well understood and is a result of a single gene locus where the dark allele is incompletely dominant to the light. In the Ross's Goose, it is not known whether there is a true blue morph or whether these birds are all hybrids or hybrid/backcrosses with blue morph Snow Geese."

-Matt Baker
Denver, CO

DAVID A LEATHERMAN

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Mar 15, 2016, 1:58:50 AM3/15/16
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Overwhelmed by discovering I could actually embed a photo in an email, I forgot to list COBIRDS as an intended addressee. 

DAL


From: daleat...@msn.com
To: matt...@gmail.com
Subject: RE: [cobirds] Blue Morph Ross's Goose at Monte Vista NWR
Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2016 17:35:33 -0600

 
 

Here is a photo shared with me a while back by Norma Verhoeff taken by Norma at the Verhoeff Farm (private) between Lamar and Hasty (Bent County) just south of Highway 50 last spring.  I believe this is a classic "blue" Ross's Goose.  Thanks to Taylor for sharing his photo, which I agree with Nick Komar, is a hybrid Ross's X Cackling, and to Matt for sharing comments from BMRoss.  It does seem odd that "blue" forms could be so common in Snow Geese and so incredibly rare in Ross's.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins





Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2016 16:11:08 -0700
From: matt...@gmail.com
To: cob...@googlegroups.com
CC: mtayl...@gmail.com
Subject: Re: [cobirds] Blue Morph Ross's Goose at Monte Vista NWR
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