Geese

I had to do a photo shoot today, but before I did I went out to Staten Island to see the reported Greater White Fronted Goose. I found him on the resevoir off of Victory Road, along with several hundred Canada Geese. He was a little tricky to spot, since he had his head tucked, as you can see in this photo with a Canada. Two differences are its slightly smaller size and a white horizontal line along its side just above the water line. During the next hour he did bring up his head, and I also got a look at his tail. The tail has a white band which is important in separating this goose from the barnyard or Greylag goose, which is a common domestic goose.  This is apparently a know Greater White Fronted that has returned over several winters, so that helps confirm the ID as well. I can say this is the first "rare" bird I've seen, with hopefully a lot more to come!