Decker Lake, Salt Lake Co.

[BRUCE ROBINSON <dbruce at prodigy dot net>]

I was starting to get nervous that I might  not reach
my goal of 225 year birds.  Here it is Christmas Eve
and I?ve been stuck on #224 for a couple of weeks. 
Santa decided to pay me an early visit as I got #225.
I?ve made a couple of trips to Decker Lake earlier
looking for the Ross?s Goose that had been spotted
there last month.  It had been the same story? lots of
Canadian?s, a few domestics, but no Ross?s.  This
morning appeared that it was going to have the same
ending.   Oh, it had been a fun and productive walk,
having located a slow to migrate Greater Yellowlegs
and a bird that I surmised was a Domestic Goose X
Canadian Goose hybrid (it had the white chin strap-
although more dirty looking -  and dark tail/flight of
the Canadian, but it?s body was light, almost a dirty
white, with a few flecks of brown feathers). 
As I was nearing the bench on the south east side, a
couple of vee formations of geese flew over head to
land in the lake.  The 2nd flock was lead by a white
goose with dark feathers in the wings!!!  (The first
thought to come to my mind was that it, like Rudolf,
was doing the guiding this day!!!)
It landed in the lake and posed so that I could verify
to myself that it wasn?t a Snow Goose.  Satisfied that
it was indeed the Ross?s Goose, I wished it a Merry
Christmas, and headed back home.
And to everyone on Birdnet, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Bruce

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