A Wild Goose Chase

On Christmas Eve Eve (the 23rd), we found ourselves with a beautiful afternoon and a hankering to get even further from town and the bustle that is characteristic of that day.

So we headed down to the St. Marks lighthouse to see what we could see.

We had not gone far in the wildlife refuge when I spotted a solitary white bird walking on and grazing on a dike. We stopped and I identified it as a goose. I started to walk toward it, taking pictures as I went.

Of course it was aware of me and walked in the opposite direction, but did not seem overly concerned as it still fed some. We continued in this manner for quite a ways.

Finally, it had had enough of my encroachment and flew off over the marsh pool.

I sent a picture to my expert ornithologist. He was not able to say with certainty whether it was a Ross' goose or a snow goose. If it was a Ross', which I thought was the case, it was my first. Either way, these geese are not at all common here and it was a fun few minutes of enjoying a Christmas goose that was not on a platter.