This small goose with a small bill, round head, and clean white coloring is typical of Ross's Goose.
Small numbers tend to be mixed with Snow Geese as well as Canada Geese. There is also a rare dark morph.
A breeder of the low Arctic tundra, in ponds and marshes, Ross's Goose will nest in colonies with the lesser Snow Goose, nesting upon the ground in sparsely vegetated areas. Often mistakenly identified as a Snow Goose, this species does not have the usual "grin patch." They do have a higher pitched call.
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Ross's Goose
Boomer Lake Park, 2018
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Usually the first to leave the breeding grounds, this bird will winter in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas, New Mexico, and in small parts of Mexico in ag fields, fresh water marshes, and shallow lakes.
Confirmed as recently as 1971, there is a very rare blue form of this species. Additionally, Ross's Goose will hybridize with the Snow Goose to create fertile offspring.
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blue morph Ross's Goose
Brooke Miller 2015 in CA
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The male has warty nodules at the base of its bill, believed to raise its status within the species. The female has very few of these, along with a flatter forehead, a shorter neck and is noticeably smaller.
This goose was named after Bernard Ross of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Canadian Northwest Territories. More of a naturalist than a fur trader, Ross created collections of mammals, birds, and insects, which he forwarded to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and the British Museum in London.
More Photos of Ross's Goose:
https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-bar-gets-raised-one-notch.html
https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2017/02/and-then-there-was-distinction.html
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