Our usual wintering geese are gathering around Salem and along the Willamette River. They will be especially numerous at local national wildlife refuges—Tualatin River, Baskett Slough, Ankeny, Finley. But they will use golf courses, soccer fields, large lawns, marshes and ponds.

Who are these honkers, anyway? It is a complex answer because there is nothing simple about the genetics, taxonomy, heritage, or distribution of the dark geese with a white chin-strap. The now-recognized species of cackling goose was first ordained by the American Ornithological Union in 2004. Before that, this smallest goose with a chin strap was considered one of many sub-species of Canada goose. Now there are five sub-species of cackling goose, officially. There are seven subspecies currently recognized for th

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