Cackling geese skim over the mouth of Whatl Creek, MK Bay, Kitimat, BC (Robin Rowland)
Cackling geese (Branta hutchnisi) make look like Canada Geese, but they’re a separate species, smaller (close to the size of a mallard duck) with a shorter neck, rounder head and a stubbier bill. The west coast species often spend summers in the Aleutian Islands and then fly south to the Central Valley of California, so these probably stopped in Kitimat on their way south.
A cackling goose. smaller than a Canada goose, hides in the grass along Whatl Creek. (Robin Rowland)
A bald eagle keeps an eye on the flock of cackling geese at Whatl Creek (Robin Rowland)The bald eagle at Whatl Creek. (Robin Rowland)
A raven flies over Kitimat harbour (Robin Rowland)A flock of about 50 mallards along the waterfront of Kitamaat Village. (Robin Rowland)
I don’t usually go out to the waterfront for birding in squally and rainy weather. This weekend I was on a photo assignment to shoot the arrival and departure of the LNG tanker GasLog Glasgow. That meant were lots of opportunities at Wahtl Creek and MK Bay in Kitimat, BC on June 28. June 28 […]
The first shipment of kiquefied natural gas from the LNG Canada facility here in Kitimat departed on on a rainy and squally afternoon of June 30, the GasLog Glasgow arrived very early on June 28, loaded the shipment and then departed for Korea on June 30. Images shot on assignment for The Globe and […]