Yesterday evening (Dec 15th) saw a leucistic Canada Goose at the Turner's Falls power canal. It looked and behaved like a new arrival and an indication that at least a few new parties of Canada Geese are still passing through. It was still present today and especially distinctive, looking creamy white and light brown overall with a reddish-pink bill. I checked carefully for signs of hybridization (with Graylag or Greater White-fronted Goose for example) but came away feeling pretty confident that the bird was a pure Canada Goose but with aberrant pigmentation. In fact, most of the features appeared to simply 'ghost' the natural plumage features of a typical Canada Goose. A nice looking bird for sure and one that I enjoyed watching. On the last two evenings it's departed NE with the first groups of Canada Geese to leave the canal for evening feeding.
The long staying Barnacle Goose and Cackling Goose continue to show incredibly consistently, but this evening the brief appearance of Snow Goose was more of a surprise. It didn't appear to like the look of the power canal and, unusually for any scarce goose at Turner's Falls, departed SE entirely alone. The 60 or so gulls present included a single (first-winter) Iceland Gull.
Earlier in the day, I spent some time searching for the reported Sage Thrasher in Hatfield, Hampshire County and came up empty though did enjoy some close Common Redpolls and three flyover Red Crossbills. The previous day also saw Red Crossbills at the traditional spot in the Montague Plains where I recorded 25 (Type 10) and a single Type 2 or Ponderosa Pine Red Crossbill.
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