12/17 - PINK-FOOTED GOOSE in Rutland

At about 11:30AM on 17Dec11, I was scanning through some Canada Geese in Rutland when I came across this PINK-FOOTED GOOSE. This is the first record for Worcester County and I think it's only the sixth or seventh record in the state (if accepted). At first I thought it might be the same bird as the one reported in Lynn a week earlier, but the bill colors are very different. The bill of the bird in Lynn had black bill with a pink tip, while the bird I saw had a mostly pink bill.

The Pink-footed Goose breeds in Greenland and Iceland and winters in Scotland and England. Their numbers are increasing. Interestingly, while watching this bird a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE flew in with another group of Canadas.

And here's the bad news: Unfortunately, this bird is located on private property and, although the landowner gave me permission to walk on the grounds, they were adamant about not having a crowd of people. It's not a birder-friendly area and definitely cannot support many cars. For this reason I am not posting the exact location. I'm posting this report soley to document the record and to make people aware that this bird is in the area. So, check all flocks of Canada Geese!

 Kevin

Recent Fall Photos

I'd be glad to answer any location/ID questions you have for this post. Otherwise, you're going to have to ID these by yourself. I'm being lazy on this one: