I was birding Buttertub Marsh with a friend last Thursday (November 17, 2016). We were scanning the almost empty pond for waterfowl when Leonel noticed 4 Great Fronted Geese hanging out with some Canada Geese at the far side of the pond. It was the first time that I had seen them there.

Here’s a picture captured with my Panasonic FZ-200 at maximum zoom. It’s cropped as well. You can also see a bird in front just to the right of centre with a neck-band as well. I’ll say more on this guy later.

Four Greater White-fronted geese mixed with some Canada Geese at Buttertub Marsh on November 17, 2016.

About and hour and a half later we were just about done and noticed the Canada Geese swimming more in the middle of the pond without the GWFG. It was Leonel’s good eyes and my FZ-200 to the rescue a second time. The 4 geese were across the pond on the edge of the pond resting, their coloration blending in well with the background reeds.

VIU Canada Goose Project

I said that I’d come back to that Canada Goose with a neck band in the first picture.

A group from VIU, headed by student Stew Pearce, banded 200 Canada Geese earlier this year and has been following the locations where they have been seen since using information sent in by birders or anyone else interested in helping out. The goal is to learn how the birds move about during the year. You can find out more by going to the VIU Canada Goose Project web-site.

Stew told me recently that geese from the project have been seen and reported from as far away as Portland, Oregon. So, if you happen to see a Canada Goose with a neck band let Stew know using the instructions at the above link.

So, did I figure out what the ID of our find was? Yup! We saw the bird swimming behind some reeds an hour or so after our first encounter and I took a some pictures as the goose swam in and out of view. One of the four was clear enough to ID the goose:

Our goose’s ID was “096P”. I checked the web-site and discovered that the most recent sighting was November 6 at Buttertubs Marsh. I’m guessing that this guy is not going South this winter.