eWestern Birds
The Quarterly Journal of Western Field Ornithologists
The Aleutian Cackling Goose in Arizona
David Vander Pluym
ABSTRACT: There is little published information about the occurrence of the Aleutian Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia) in Arizona. Formerly listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, this subspecies has rebounded, leading to an increase in numbers occurring outside its core range, including Arizona. Since the first in 1975, at least 24 well-founded records for Arizona have accumulated, one supported by a specimen, two by band recoveries, and 20 by diagnostic photographs. Since 2013 the Aleutian Cackling Goose has occurred in Arizona annually between November and February. It is most frequent along the Colorado River, but records extend as far east as Willcox, Cochise County.