Two June Records of the Canada Goose in Grand Canyon, Arizona
Two June Records of the Canada Goose in Grand Canyon, Arizona.-The Canada Goose (Brunt4 canadensis) is a common wintering and migrating bird in Arizona. Extreme dates for its presence in the state are 11 September, at Fredonia, to 15 April, at Lyman Dam south of St. Johns (Phillips, Marshall, and Monson, Birds of Arizona, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1964). The only summer records of this species therefore seem to be two that were recently recorded on the Colorado River, within Grand Canyon.
The first was sighted in Marble Gorge just above Grand Canyon National Park on 14 June 1965 by Robert J. Todd, Park Ranger at the park. The observation was shared by many of the other members of the boat party. The second sighting was by me on 18 June 1966 about a half mile above Lava Falls in Grand Canyon National Monument. This bird rose from the edge of the Colorado River and flew away, downstream, as the lead boat, in which I was riding, approached. After the boats were beached at the head of Lava Falls, the goose flew upstream toward where we had first seen it, on the opposite side of the river. Although its flight seemed normal during the two brief observations, its presence on the river could have been the result of sickness, which forced the bird to drop out of a migrating flock.-NORMAN G. MESSINGER, P.O. Box 20.5, Yosemite National Park, California 95389, 6 July 1966.
