First True Cackling Goose

[BilletHead]

Well the BilletHead's are still going some but I am growing tired. Wearing out. We went Saturday Afternoon. Found where there was some open water along a north bank. We went in and spooked out close to eighty geese and a dozen ducks. Got set up. The setting,

Ended up with two mallards. The Mrs. did drop one but it made it to the middle of the lake on the ice. It finally worked its way to the opposite shore and she retrieved it. On her way back I had a fully decked out pintail work. It circled down and then two mallards showed up and it got with them. They seen something they didn't like and flew out. We had groups of geese fly right over the open water and gathered in the disked corn behind us. At one time there were well over two hundred geese out there. After LST we picked up and as we were hooking the trailer on the truck they got up and left.

Did not go yesterday. My body did not want to get out of bed. This morning it made it up early but decided to hunt close to the house. Hooked the trailer up to the ATV and a half mile ride I was at the pond. Headlights revealed a flock of snows. They stayed on the opposite end ignoring me. Set up and LST arrived. Some single ducks circled and left. A pair of ring necks worked me and then landed with the snows. Soon snows flew out taking ringers with them. A bit later fifteen mallards worked in and one stayed with me. Seen more canadas in the distance. Then a pair of canadas pitched right in and down they went. A bit later I hear specks behind me. As they came over I noticed another big flock of canadas off to the side. I called and the specks turned, looked and then quickly caught up and left with the canadas. My holy grail of a tar belly speckle belly flew off. Curses foiled again! As I lay there studying the thickening clouds I hear from behind again some awful squeaky half hearted goose sound. I roll my head to see a guess of thirty mini canada geese in a ball coming over. They bank and circle three times and down they come. They did not come in in a nice wedge but in a wad. So tight, I pick the edge one and down it. Pond was still so I got the baitcaster did a cast for the perfect retrieve. I cranked in my prize. I looked like a toy compared to the greaters. Body just slightly larger than the mallard, head smaller than the mallard. Big geese weighed 10 and 9.14oz. Cackler 3.8oz, mallard 2.9oz. I cleaned the cackler like I do my ducks and will try cooking him the same. A nice sear on the outside and rare to medium rare inside. We will see how it tastes? Some ohotos,

BilletHead

[tho1mas]

Nice hunt.

[Feathers and Fins]

Marty those short necks make me mad whenever I see them. They have blown my cover more than one time and that cackle they make just turns me in to a murdering fool... Now eating wise they are very tasty worthy of a full breast wings and legs attached and put in the rotisserie. Congrats on yours.

[Boobie]

Great job. Crazy looking bird!!!

[duckydoty]

Nice job Marty!

The crackers hang with the emperors up in Alaska. They are very similar looking and lots of time they all get to fly away without even a shot being fired due to very last minute identification. The emperors have yellow legs.

[JohnP]

Congrats BH.

[BilletHead]

Thanks guys,

Pretty neat info Duane. I know this little guy or gal traveled a long ways to see me and come to dinner. What their eyes have seen along the way.

BilletHead

[Bird Watcher]

After our talk Today I went and looked it up. I found this interesting, well, because I'm a dork. When I was younger, you'd get ridiculed if you called a Richardson's a cackler by other bird dorks. That always referred to the dark breasted minimas that live out west. It now appears they are grouped together.

What is the “Cackling Goose”?

First, to clear up some confusion about the names of the species and subspecies: The former broad Canada Goose has been divided into a large-bodied, interior- and southern-breeding species, and a small-bodied tundra-breeding subspecies. The large-bodied group is still known as Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) while the small-bodied group takes the name Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii). This means that the English name Cackling Goose, which has in the past been more or less restricted to the smallest subspecies (the far western B. c. minima) is now the species name for all four of the small subspecies. This new species takes the scientific name of the earliest-named subspecies and becomes Branta hutchinsii.

Cackling Goose Branta hutchinsii – Small-bodied group – 4 subspecies breeding mainly in tundra

• B. h. hutchinsii – Richardson’s (or Hutchins’s) Cackling Goose – reportedly intergrades with parvipes throughout range in NWT and Nunavut, but this is uncertain. Small and rather light, pale breast.
• B. h. taverneri – Taverner’s (Alaska) Cackling Goose – may intergrade with parvipes in interior AK. Merged by Palmer with parvipes but has unique mtDNA. Similar to leucopareia but slightly larger and lighter in color, with rounder head. Similar to parvipes but breast slightly darker.
• B. h. minima – Cackling Cackling Goose – Smallest, with small bill and short neck but relatively long legs; variable color and pattern but typically quite dark brown with purplish cast on breast, bill stubby, straight to convex culmen, nail less elongated than leucopareia, white cheeks more extensive than leucopareia.
• B. h. leucopareia – Aleutian Cackling Goose – includes asiatica (extinct). Larger than minima, with paler breast usually gray-brown to dark brownish; white collar usually complete and rather thick with blackish feathering at base of neck; head rather square profile; bill short, tapering to narrow tip and somewhat pointed nail; white cheek patches somewhat more restricted, nearly always black throat stripe.

[BilletHead]

So reading the above what the heck variety of cackler did I shoot? They did not mention what each one tastes like.

BilletHead

[Feathers and Fins]

Its ok Marty. For your next trick you need to shoot a Quiller