Ross’s Geese at the baseball field!

[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2012] – I was driving out of Robb Field, Ocean Beach when I noticed two suspiciously small white birds feeding on the short turf of the main baseball pitch. Dwarfed by nearby Western Gulls there was no mistaking two white morph Ross’s Goose Chen rossii feeding happily on the tender green grass shoots. Occasional batted balls went flying by and a dog flushed them but they kept on coming back for the good grazing! In one of the flight shots you can see the dark marked secondaries of the hatch year bird in the background and the white secondaries of the adult in the foreground. The hatch year bird also has greyish legs while the adult has pink legs and shows a more wrinkled look to the bill.

Ross’s Geese – Robb Field, Ocean Beach, San Diego 08 Dec 2012

Ross’s Goose – Robb Field, Ocean Beach, San Diego 08 Dec 2012

Ross’s Goose – Robb Field, Ocean Beach, San Diego 08 Dec 2012

Ross’s Goose – Robb Field, Ocean Beach, San Diego 08 Dec 2012

Ross’s Goose – Robb Field, Ocean Beach, San Diego 08 Dec 2012

Ross’s Geese – Robb Field, Ocean Beach, San Diego 08 Dec 2012

Ross’s Geese – Robb Field, Ocean Beach, San Diego 08 Dec 2012

Ross’s Geese – Robb Field, Ocean Beach, San Diego 08 Dec 2012

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2 thoughts on “Ross’s Geese at the baseball field!

  1. I was researching a Ross’s x Snow hybrid and ran across these pics. I’m wondering if both birds might be immatures. Both have gray on the face (both fore and aft of the eye), lack caruncles on the bill (which adults “often” show), have gray on the mantle and scapulars, and grayish legs. The best indication of one being an adult is the seeming lack of gray on the secondaries. However, duskiness can occasionally be limited to the vicinity of the shaft (Pyle 2008), and the in-flight photos provide a limited view of these feathers. My vote is for both being immatures.

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