A wild goose chase
On January 31, 2014, a report of Pink-footed Geese in Baltimore, Maryland sent the birding community abuzz. This is a species native to northern Europe. The second day, I made a trek to this region (it is about one and half hour's drive for me). After a couple of false starts -- the geese, being wild, moved about a lot -- finally I got report from the Maryland birding mailing list that they were re-discovered on the Stevenson University campus. I hurried over, and sure enough, there they were on a meadow, among a flock of about a hundred or so Canada Geese. The view was distant but I got a few passable pictures. (Click on each image to see the high-resolution version)
Another oddity among this flock of Canada Geese is one with a white back-of-the-neck. It is just a Canada Goose with aberrant coloring, but I labeled it as "White-necked Goose".
I could not get close to the Pink-footed Geese, or rather, I did not want to get too close to spook them, as there were many other birders watching them (in any case, I would not want to disturb them). The following are two of the best pictures I could get, the "White-necked Goose" is in fact in the background of both pictures.
I stayed around for a couple of hours, knowing full well that I may not see them again unless I go to Greenland or Iceland. But eventually I had to leave.
I stopped at Fort Armistead on the way home. In this rather severe winter, the Chesapeake Bay is full of ice floes. Where there was open water, waterfowl and gulls were floating or swimming around. A pair of Lesser Scaups were near the boat dock, allowing me to get a few close pictures.
Before I left, a flock of Northern Cardinals stopped in the bush in front of my car. I was only too happy to snap a few more pictures.
Pink-footed Goose
Pink-footed Goose
"White-necked Goose"
Pink-footed Geese
Pink-footed Geese
Lesser Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Northern Cardinal