Greater White-fronted Goose - Anser albifrons

Every year when we visit Santa Fe Dam for some birding we always see this bird. It had gotten used to urban living and associates itself with the more common Greylags.

In December 2010, a flock of this species visited the Candaba Wetlands in the Philippines. Although they are migrants from northern Asia, the Philippines is not their usual destination during winter.

Santa Fe Dam
March 16, 2018

Canon 5D Mk III, Tamron 150-600 @ 483mm
ISO-800, 1/1000, f13

Candaba Wetlands
December 23, 2010

Canon 5D Mk II, 500 + 1.4X = 700mm
ISO-400, 1/1250, f13

Tundra Bean Goose - Anser serrirostris

We had barely settled in as retirees to the Philippines when we learned that there was an extremely rare goose seen at the Candaba Wetlands. Thankfully, a friend offered to take us along with him to twitch on this bird. It was luck that as soon as we arrived we already saw this species which was a first time occurrence in the Philippines.

Candaba Wetlands, Pampanga
April 3, 2010

Canon 5D Mk II, 500 + 1.4X = 700mm
ISO-320, 1/640, f9, tripod

Greylag Goose - Anser anser

The Greylag Goose is the species where the domesticated geese originally came from. Most of these birds seen in urban parks are most likely offsprings of the domestic variety that became feral. I've seen them in California and in Sydney, Australia.

Frank Bonelli Regional Park
San Dimas, California
March 2016

Canon 5D Mk III, Tamron 150-600 @ 600mm
ISO-800, 1/100, f11

Sydney, Australia
October 2016

Canon 5D Mk III, Tamron 150-600 @ 450mm
ISO-1250, 1/100, f11

Snow Goose - Chen caerulescens

Snow Geese migrate by the thousands to Southern California, particularly at the Salton Sea. It was strange that we saw one at the Almansor Park (which is a small urban park) in December 2009.

Almansor Park
Alhambra, California
December 12 2009

Canon 30D,  100-400 @ 160mm
ISO-800, 1/320, f6.3

Ross's Goose - Chen rossii

It was at Prado Dam that we've seen this species - first in June of 2007 then in April of the following year. Since it was supposed to be a migrant, we were surprised to see it at that time of the year. Perhaps thinking that the long voyage to the Arctic would be too tiring, it just decided to stick around with the locals.

Prado Dam
Corona, California
April 5, 2008

Canon 40D, 100-400 @ 390mm
ISO-400, 1/800, f10

Brant Goose - Branta bernicla

This species is an uncommon migrant to California. I was fortunate to have seen it on three different times and places in southern California.

Legg Lake, South El Monte, CA
June 12, 2007

Canon 30D, 100-400 @ 400mm
ISO-320, 1/800. f10

Cabrillo Beach, San Pedro, CA
January 9, 2010

Canon 40D, 100-400 @ 400mm
ISO-320, 1/640, f9

Bolsa Chica, Huntington Beach, CA
April 2, 2014

Canon 5D Mk III, 300 + 1.4X = 420mm
ISO-500, 1/800, f10

Lesser Whistling Duck - Dendrocygna javanica

This species looks very similar to the Wandering Whistling Duck. What separates one from the other is the region where they reside. The Wandering Whistling Duck is more of a southern bird ranging from Australia north to the Philippines, Indonesia and Borneo while the Lesser is found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

It was on a birding trip to Singapore in April 2010 that we added this species to our life list.

Canon 5D Mk II, 300mm + 1.4X = 420mm
ISO-400, 1/100, f5.6

Fulvous Whistling Duck - Dendrocygna bicolor

Although a resident in Central and South America, this species had expanded its territory in the 1960s to southern Texas, Florida and extreme southern California. In December 2005 there was a stray individual seen at the Whittier Narrows Park in Whittier, California. I was one of the many birders who was able to photographically document its presence.

Canon 20D, 500mm + 1.4X = 700mm
ISO-200, 1/250, f5.6

Black-bellied Whistling Duck - Dendrocygna autumnalis

We first saw this species at the Edinburg Scenic Wilderness Park in Texas back in January 2008. They were a bit far and I didn't get good photos.

In April 2016, we went to Panama for some birding. As we were traveling along the famous Pipeline Road, we passed by a small pond. Our guide stopped and pointed at the birds in the area. One of which was the Black-bellied Whistling Duck. This time I got better pictures.

Canon 5D Mk III, Tamron 150-600 @ 600mm
ISO-800, 1/800 f10 handheld