Birding listservers are buzzing since it became known that Cackling Goose has been split from Canada Goose according to the 45th Supplement to the AOU Checklist published in the July 2004 issue of The Auk.
Despite similar plumage, Cackling Goose is noticeably smaller that a Canada Goose--not much larger than a Mallard. It now consists of several subspecies, including "Richardson's" Cackling Goose and "Aleutian" Cackling Goose, among others.
Because I have seen what was then the Richardson's form of Canada Goose in Colorado and Illinois, I can now add CACKLING GOOSE to my life list, ABA area list, Colorado state list, and Illinois state list.
This morning I drove over to Chinook Mine in Vigo County to try to spot Common Moorhens, Sedge Wrens, and American Bitterns that had been reported there. I struck out on the bittern, but quickly found COMMON MOORHEN (Indiana state bird number 215, year bird number 197) in the form of an adult and fluffy chick which were difficult to see as they stayed mainly in the cattails. After leaving the moorhens, I slowly drove the dirt roads on the mine property and heard, and then saw, a SEDGE WREN (Indiana state bird number 216, year bird number 198) in the tall grass at the side of the road.
From there, I drove down to Goose Pond in Greene County and found a pair of BLACK-NECKED STILT (Indiana state bird number 217, year bird number 199). The small body of water at which they may be nesting is not visible from the road, and I wouldn't have seen them, except that they were harrassing a Great Blue Heron which was flying by.
Had the day off today on account of the 4th of July holiday, so I decided to check out the Gibson Power Plant for Least Terns. Gibson Power Plant is in southwest Indiana along the Wabash River, about a two hour's drive from where I live. This is the only place in the state of Indiana where Least Terns nest, and marks the northernmost limit of their range in the Ohio/Wabash river valleys.
Within a few minutes after arriving at the power plant, I saw a tern flying above a high berm behind which is located one of the cooling lakes at the plant. It went out of sight below the level of the berm before I could rule out Forster's Tern. The cooling lake is where the terns breed, and is off limits behind a tall fence, so I had to wait along the side of the road before I could see it again. The next time it flew up, I was able to get it in my binoculars and confirm that it was a LEAST TERN (Indiana state bird number 213, year bird number 195). In all, I saw about five individuals, many of which were carrying small fish in their bills, presumably for young at the nesting area.
Feeling lucky for having found the tern so quickly, I checked out some of the small, brush-lined ponds near the plant to see if anything interesting was around. I got lucky again when I found a juvenile YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON (Indiana state bird number 214, year bird number 196).
Not a bad morning's birding.
This evening I went to the home of a local birder who has had Eastern Screech-Owls nesting in his yard for the last three years. This year the pair of owls has fledged four young, and they make an appearance in his back yard almost every night. He has been feeding them mice, and frequently the owls will take them from his hand or from the ground within a few feet.
Tonight all six owls showed up and we got good close looks in the dusk. They were in the branches just a few feet over our heads. We tried to feed them mice, but tonight they did not take any. Nevertheless, it was exciting seeing so many owls so close. EASTERN SCREECH-OWL was Indiana state bird number 212, year bird number 194.