SOLWAY: Cackling Canada Goose 19 October 2008.

Guess the little critter deserves a post of its own. Couple of alerts on the phone over the weekend saying that a Cackling Canada Goose was present on the Whooper Pond at Caerlaverock "with Barnacle Geese" sounded interesting. We played it cool for once and called in to the Wetlands Trust reserve this afternoon on our way home.

Cackling Canada Goose with Greylag Goose, Mallards and er .... Wigeon. Caerlaverock 18 October 2008.

Fully expecting a pond full to the brim with Barnacles to look through we entered the observatory overlooking the Whooper Pond, grateful for the shelter from the howling wind and driving rain. No Barnacles, just a bunch of standard Canadas but the "Cackler" was on the bank roosting.

After a while it burst into action, shaking its head and then going back to sleep again. Eventually it got up, walked around a bit and started feeding causing a commotion in the hide as the assembled photographers attempted to get photos of the right bird this time. Oh the excitement of it all.

Cackling Canada Goose with Wigeon, Caerlaverock 19 October 2008.

Tiny goose (compare with Wigeons and Mallards) with a dark breast it was quite easy to pick out but would've looked nicer amongst a flock of Barnacles I reckon. Similar to the one (or the same?) we saw at Redkirk Point last week showing a neat, sharp white collar.

With these close views the small bill could be noted and as it fed I noticed that this individual lacks a black "chin-strap" (see below).

Quite different to the "Cackler" at Fairhaven Lake in Lancs I photographed last July lacking a crisp white collar but exhibiting a thin black chin-strap. Quite variable, obviously.

Cackling Canada Goose, Fairhaven Lake, Lancs July 2008.