Wow! I was extraordinarily lucky today when I ran into two rarities
back-to-back! Today while walking along the Olentangy River, near the
wastewater treatment plant here in Delaware, I watched a large flock of 200+
geese fly over, headed to land in the river. I observed a very small
waterfowl, which I had hoped to be a duck (since Iıve been looking for ducks
to add to my campus list), but it turned out to be a goose! Immediately I
realized that this was no duck, but a very small goose! The bird finally
landed on the river, which is not very wide, and I was able to get within 40
ft of the bird. It was only barely bigger than a Mallard (which were present
for comparison), and it had the pushed-in, stubby bill. What luck! A
Cackling Goose!
Next, as I was walking back toward the science center, I was extra vigilant
for large flocks. I saw in the distance a flock of large birds, with very
long necks and dangling stick-like legs; it was a flock of about 120
Sandhill Cranes!!
And last, as I was adjacent to the Science Center, I observed another flock
of about 100 geese, which contained the Cackler. I was able to show one
person, Julia Blyth, who is a good friend of Ben Warnerıs. These two great
birds push my campus list up to 148. What will be 150?
Sean
---
Sean Williams, '11
Undergraduate of Ornithology of Dr. Jed Burtt
Ohio Wesleyan University
HWCC 724
Delaware, OH 43015
617-470-4094
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