A snow goose helps us see in the new year

“What’s that white bird out there?” my wife asked at the breakfast table this morning. “Out there, in the geese.”

As there were about 200 Canada geese on the neighboring golf course, just beyond our property line, it took me a while to pick out the white bird. I grabbed my camera, dashed outside and blasted off several shots, hoping I’d be able to get a clear ID.

The bird was the same size as most of the Canadas surrounding it. It was white but had black streaking on its back, and I couldn’t clearly make out its beak. While I wondered if I was shooting pictures of some sort of weird hybrid, my wife grabbed a bird book, stuck her head out the back door and said, “It’s a snow goose. An immature snow goose.”

Right she was.

This is our ninth winter in our house. We have seen thousands upon thousands of Canada geese out on the golf course, some of them risking my wife’s wrath by waddling into our yard. Yet until today, I’d never seen a snow goose among them. Nor have I knowingly seen a cackling goose, the odds of which have to be better than finding the snow goose.

But a snow goose it was, and I’m taking that as a good omen for 2025.

I had good karma this morning in my walk at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, catching a red-shouldered hawk perched on a branch in the large tree near the parking lot. There weren’t many other birds perching or flying beyond a few sparrows, but that’s how birding goes — feast or famine.

The sun was streaming beautifully later in the day, and I went back to the Pole Farm for a late afternoon walk. I spooked a Northern harrier off a post, and I think this is a fine frame with which to end the year.

As for 2024, I failed at meeting my goal of birding in all the New Jersey counties in which I hadn’t previously visited. I added three counties in that ambitious goal, and I won’t delude myself into thinking I can complete the map in the coming year.

I did record 152 species worldwide this year, thanks in part to December visits to Prague and Dresden, Germany. That trip also contributed to my adding 15 species to my life list. I’m happy with that. I shall sleep contentedly tonight, likely dreaming about the adventures that lie ahead in 2025. 🦅