Goose sightings (collars or leg bands)

Multiple sightings of neck collared or leg-banded geese are very useful. If you have the time and inclination you may attempt to identify the marked bird's mate, family status and fat score (see below).

Important: Please fill out this form for each pair or family separately. NOTE: Please do not enter commas into the text fields!

Western Canada Geese on Humboldt Bay have been fitted with either white or black, engraved neck collars. Most collars read from the ground up. White collars have 3 or 4 black-alpha and/or numeric digits. Black collars have 3 white-alpha digits.

Aleutian geese are smaller so their collars and leg-bands are thinner and shorter. Their collars and leg-bands are blue, green, and grey with 3 white or black numbers.

Black brant have been fitted with leg-bands of a variety of colors. See separate page for details.

Your name: Your email:      

Date:         
e.g. 08.08.00

Or Your Phone:
Time of day:
e.g. 0900 or 1830

  • This observation is of:
    Western Canada Geese     Aleutian Geese     Black Brant
  • Location of sighting
    Describe location to enable plotting on map.
    eg. Field on corner of Jackson Ranch Rd. and Samoa Rd.
    • Please enter UTM coordinates when known. DON'T USE COMMA'S
    eastings northings
  • Habitat
    Describe the habitat type. If you chose other, please use box below list.
    		•

  • Flock size

    • e.g. 50, 150, 1500

  • Total number of collars in this flock
    		• e.g. Enter exact number here

  • Total number of necks checked for collars (regardless of pair and family membership)

    • e.g. 17

    1. 1. Goose pairs and family members travel (in air and on ground) as discrete units.

      2. Please fill out one of these forms for EACH discrete family unit or group of associated birds.

      3. Please attempt to determine each marked bird's family members, especially if you also recorded their collars or leg-bands.

  • Bird's Marker

    • Neck collar                 Leg-band

     Bird's code   (type in alphanumeric)

    Color of marker

  • Bird's fat score

    Abdominal fat profile field index

    Fatscore

    Note: Bird must be perpendicular to observer

    • Index: 0=concaved/thin, 1=straight, 2=convex, 3=rounded, 4=well rounded/bulging. With practice, you may see that some fat scores fall between two index-points, so a score of 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, or 3.5 may be more appropriate. See diagram.

    You have three choices:
    1. FINISHED? Then submit now:

    2. If you determined the identity of the bird's mate and/or gosling's please continue.

    3. If you did not but birds were in some way associated with other marked birds, click here

    Note: Mates generally travel along the same path and rarely allow neighboring flock members go between (i.e. usually each other's nearest neighbor).

  • Mate's code

    Important: Leave mate column blank if you can not determine bird's mate-status.

    		•

    If bird has a mate without a collar select one of the following buttons in mate column: UNMARKED, METAL ONLY, and in the unlikely event that the bird is definately NOT WITH mate select NOT WITH.
     Neck collar     Leg-band
    UNMARKED   METAL ONLY
    NOT WITH

     Bird's code   (type in alphanumeric)

    Color of marker

  • Mate's fat score

    Abdominal fat profile field index

    Fatscore

    Note: Bird must be perpendicular to observer

    • Index: 0=concaved/thin, 1=straight, 2=convex, 3=rounded, 4=well rounded/bulging. With practice, you may see that some fat scores fall between two index-points, so a score of 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, or 3.5 may be more appropriate. See diagram.

  • Mate certainty codes

    • How certain are you in mate's identification? Codes: 1=very certain, 2=moderate, 3=not very.

  • Mate identification criteria
    Select one or more criteria.

    • Which criteria did you use in the decision?
    nearby and/or traveled together,
    approached each other without aggression,
    coordinated head-up bouts or pre-flight         movements,
    pair members performed social display,
    assisted one another in aggressive encounter.

    Note: Goslings hatch in May and travel with parents as a family unit for most of their first year. Goslings gradually develop adult-like plumage. However, up to about January goslings may be thinner and have less well-defined plumage characteristics.

  • Number of goslings

    Important: If there are no goslings then put a zero in the column.

    Important: Leave gosling column blank if you can not determine family-status.

    • Record number of juveniles associating with bird and mate (e.g. 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.).

  • Gosling certainty codes

    • How certain are you in gosling's identification? Codes: 1=very certain, 2=moderate, 3=not very.

  • Gosling identification criteria

     

    Enter the number of one or more criteria.

     

    • Which criteria did you use in the decision?
    gosling & parent nearby and/or traveled         together,
    approached each other without aggression,
    coordinated head-up bouts or pre-flight         movements,
    gosling and/or parent greeted (display)         another,
    assisted one another in aggressive encounter, distinct gosling plumage


    • Record additional information about collared bird: e.g. limping, injured, chipped collar, female, male, gosling, collar upside down (USD); reads from top down.Record additional information about collared bird: e.g. limping, injured, chipped collar, female, male, gosling, collar upside down (USD); reads from top down.
    • Please enter any other information about habitat, marker color, etc. that should be communicated.
     

    Please hit the submit key if you are finished above.
    Associate Bird's Data Entry
    Associate Bird' Marker
    Associate Bird's Fat Score
    1) Neck collar                 Leg-band

     associate's code   (type in alphanumeric)

    Color of marker     		Fatscore
    Please insert Abdominal fat profile field index
    2) Neck collar                 Leg-band

     associate's code   (type in alphanumeric)

    Color of marker     		Fatscore
    Please insert Abdominal fat profile field index
    3) Neck collar                 Leg-band

     associate's code   (type in alphanumeric)

    Color of marker     		Fatscore
    Please insert Abdominal fat profile field index
    4) Neck collar                 Leg-band

     associate's code  (type in alphanumeric)

    Color of marker     		Fatscore
    Please insert Abdominal fat profile field index
    5) Neck collar                 Leg-band

     associate's code  (type in alphanumeric)

    Color of marker     		Fatscore
    Please insert Abdominal fat profile field index
    6) Neck collar                 Leg-band

     associate's code  (type in alphanumeric)

    Color of marker     		Fatscore
    Please insert Abdominal fat profile field index
    7) Neck collar                 Leg-band

     associate's code  (type in alphanumeric)

    Color of marker     		Fatscore
    Please insert Abdominal fat profile field index
    8) Neck collar                 Leg-band

     associate's code  (type in alphanumeric)

    Color of marker     		Fatscore
    Please insert Abdominal fat profile field index
    9) Neck collar                 Leg-band

     associate's code  (type in alphanumeric)

    Color of marker     		Fatscore
    Please insert Abdominal fat profile field index
    10) Neck collar                 Leg-band

     associate's code  (type in alphanumeric)

    Color of marker     		Fatscore
    Please insert Abdominal fat profile field index
    11) Neck collar                 Leg-band

     associate's code  (type in alphanumeric)

    Color of marker     		Fatscore
    Please insert Abdominal fat profile field index
    12) Neck collar                 Leg-band

     associate's code  (type in alphanumeric)

    Color of marker     		Fatscore
    Please insert Abdominal fat profile field index

    Submit all the data


    Data will be processed by Dr. Black's Waterfowl Ecology Research Group, Department of Wildlife,
    Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA, 95521[email:jmb7002@axe.humboldt.edu; phone 707 826-3439 fax 707 826 4060
    (Version 1.13.00)



    HSU Dr. Black
    Wildlife
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