It’s Here!

Loess Hills Audubon is again partnering with Council Oak Coffee Supply for a certified bird-friendly limited edition coffee roast. Pre-order forms will be available at the October 3rd general meeting.

For a $20 donation to Loess Hills Audubon, you will receive a12-ounce bag of either whole bean or ground Tanager Drip: A Migratory Trip limited edition coffee.

This limited edition roast is only available through Loess Hills Audubon. Help support local and migratory birds and their habitats, your chapter and our activities with this fund-raising partnership with Council Oak Coffee Supply.

BIRD OF THE MONTH - Ross’s Goose

A diminutive version of the familiar Snow Goose, Ross’s Goose is also white with black wingtips but has a shorter neck and stubbier bill. The bill is pink and lacks the broad black edges of the bill (known as a “grinning patch”) that Snow Geese show.

Very rarely, a Ross's Goose can be found that is dark-colored like a blue morph Snow Goose. Rare “blue” morphs have mostly dark bodies and wings, with a white face.

These gregarious waterfowl can form huge flocks on their own, and smaller numbers also join enormous flocks of Snow Geese. A Ross’s Goose can often be picked out of a large flock of Snow Geese by its immaculate white head, lacking the yellow staining of Snow Geese that have been rooting deeply for tubers in marshes. Ross’s Geese tend to forage more on plants at the surface.

Migrants in flight and at rest give a distinctive keekkeek keek call, higher in pitch than calls of Snow Geese, and a lower, grunting hawh hawh.  Medium-distance migrant, Ross’s Geese breed entirely in Canada and migrate to the U.S. and northern Mexico for winter.