[[ Corey, I used to like you. Really I did. I liked you when you answered my quiz incorrectly. Then I could feign some sort of false sense of superiority. I could imagine that I outfoxed you. Now what am I supposed to feel? Here you are, one of the two blogmasters at 10,000 Birds, a good birder, a good blogger, a good friend, and a good husband and father. And then what do you do? You answer my quiz correctly. I am crestfallen. Well, maybe. ]]
OK then, will full reluctance based upon a teenager’s attitude problem, I will recount the quiz:
I received an email from a friend with the following query. The email, received on May 7 at 6:15AM, reads verbatim:
“RE: NEW YARD BIRD
This morning – flying with three of another related species (those were interesting enough in themselves). It was still a little dark out there; I would have missed it had it not been for the three companions. They all lit so I could get the scope on them to confirm the ID.”
After a number of hints, the following guesses were offered. These were terrific guesses.
Long-billed Dowitcher
Bohemian Waxwing
Black Vulture
Calfornia Condor? Now wouldn’t that be cool.
A “Woodpeckery thing” with some number of toes.
Eurasian Wigeon
Ross’s Goose
Upland Sandpiper
Little Gull
Wilson’s Phalarope
Marbled Godwit
Least Tern
Iceland Gull
Many of these would be great additions to the yard list. However, it was, in fact, a CACKLING GOOSE, as Corey guessed. According to Rich Guthrie, the man with a yard list of 207, a group of four geese lit upon the Hudson River by his house. Three of the four geese were SNOW GEESE, which are “interesting enough in themselves”, especially at this time of year. The fourth goose needed some checking out with the scope to see if it was a small CANADA GOOSE or Cackling Goose.
Thanks for playing. Until next quiz.
Nice.