Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: Anser albifrons

3 more pictures and two note above! :) A few days ago, Steve took my camera to work because he was asked to take a picture of a local bridge. When he got there, he was astonished by the beauty of the park there, and today we went there together so I could take pictures! Riverside Park is small but very lovely, and borders the picturesque Rogue River. Steve told me about the geese he'd seen there, and he got some pictures of them the other day. I was especially excited to see if they were there today... YES THEY WERE!!! There were about 75-100 geese in the river and on the banks. They were not very timid so we were able to get very close. All of them were Canada Geese... except two! Steve and I had never seen a Greater White-Fronted Goose before and I was delighted that I was able to get nice pictures of each of them. The one in this picture was much larger than the other one, so we think it's a male, but we can't be sure. I spent a lot of time taking pictures of all the geese and have countless images that turned out nicely, but for now, I'm going to put 4 pictures up tonight, which include an image of the other Greater White Front and a crop to show its beautiful face, and also a Canada Goose with an red tree reflecting in the water where its swimming! ENJOY! (By the way, after I finished taking pictures of geese, I spent an hour or more wandering around taking pictures of leaves and trees galore...so many pictures, I had no time to look at any of them!! Another day! :D ) The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, founded by Tsongkhapa (1357–1419). The name is a combination of the Sino-Mongolian word dalai meaning "vast sea" and the Tibetan word meaning "guru, teacher, mentor". Wikipedia: Dalai Lama Explored on October 28, 2013. Highest placement, page 5.

2 pictures and 1 note above! :D I'm not positive this is a female but it was a lot smaller than the other one. I was originally going to make this my Picture of the Day because its bill is so beautiful and it's just such a pretty goose, but the other one has such a sweet expression that it was the better choice I think. You can see a close-up of this bird's beautiful face by rolling your mouse over the picture or going to the next image! :) (By the way, you'll notice my slightly insane commentary about butt feathers...I have been crazy about them since I was a kid and our librarian read a picture-filled story book about a goose, and the pictures were drawn with the most wonderful, fluffy butt feathers that ever since that day, I am completely CRAZY about fluffy, fluffy butt feathers! In fact, I usually cannot resist writing notes on other people's pictures whenever I find more glorious butt feathers to appreciate! :D HOORAY FOR FLUFFY BUTT FEATHERS!) From Wiki: The Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) is a species of goose. The Greater White-fronted Goose is more closely related to the smaller Lesser White-fronted Goose (A. erythropus). In Europe it has been known as simply "White-fronted Goose"; in North America it is known as the Greater White-fronted Goose (or "Greater Whitefront"), and this name is also increasingly adopted internationally. It is named for the patch of white feathers bordering the base of its bill. But even more distinctive are the salt-and-pepper markings on the breast of adult birds, which is why the goose is colloquially called the "Specklebelly" in North America.

I love the markings on this goose's bill and thought you might like to have a closer look too. SO PRETTY!!!! :D Have you ever wondered when to use the term "beak" and when to use "bill"? Here's an explanation I got from the awesome folks over at Birdforum.com ! :) “In Ornithology, ‘beak’ is the general term applicable to all birds; in ordinary language ‘beak’ is used for birds of prey, and generally when striking or pecking is in question. ‘Beak’ and ‘bill’ are both used for crows, finches, sparrows, perching birds and songbirds. ‘Bill’ is almost exclusively used for hummingbirds, pigeons, waders, and web-footed birds”.