Regarding the cackling goose - Have you seen one? And if not, is it on your "life list"? Cheers - Jim
Yes, they aren't too hard to come by in Santa Barbara county. Definitely not as easy to find as Canada Geese, and the part about scrutinizing the bigger ones to look for a cute little one definitely tracks.
Checking eBird, I see that I've recorded them on 36 checklists over the last 6 years. That compares to 214 checklists with Canada Goose.
Here's a not-great photo I took of one hanging out with several Canada Geese in 2020:
The Cackling Goose is the little cute one with the white neck ring. (Not all subspecies of Cackling Goose have the white neck ring, but when they do it's very handy for distinguishing them.)
Here's a slightly better photo I took of one in 2018:
