What a great fall it has been for rare geese in the central
Aroostook area! Canada Geese are
thinning out now, but numbers peaked in mid-October with more than 30,000 geese
staging locally to fatten up on waste grain, grass sprouts and potatoes.
In addition to our usual hordes of Canada Geese, we had the
pleasure of spotting SIX other species of geese over the past month and a half:
Snow Geese- It’s been a light year with some early reports
starting in mid-September and several single Snows reported in Limestone and
Caribou in early Oct. A few small flocks
were seen in the middle of the month. No
“Blue” phase Snow Geese were reported this year.
Cackling Goose- Rare
but regular most years…Only a couple of these mini-sized Canada Goose imitators
were seen this fall. One was reported at
Long Lake in mid October, another one was photographed in the mill pond at
Limestone on the 21st of October and yet another was seen at
Christina Reservoir on November 6th.
Greater White-fronted Goose- Bob Carns in Portage Lake
reported one in early November on the Fox Hill Road. Another was reported in October from the
Grand Isle area. The Portage Lake bird
was a member of the Greenland subspecies with a bright orange bill and legs.
Barnacle Goose- Tanya
Byrum spotted a Barnacle Goose in the mill pond in downtown Limestone on
October 29th. She was able to
snap a couple pictures of the before the bird departed. It was not seen again. A European species, Barnacle Geese have only
visited northern Maine on two other occasions.
Ross’s Goose-
Aroostook County’s first ever Ross’s Goose spent a week at the mill pond
in downtown Limestone from the 29th of September through the 5th of
October. This miniature version of the
Snow Goose was easy to observe and many area birders were able to enjoy the
bird as it loafed and bathed with the Canada Geese.
Pink-footed Goose- In
a season of standout rare geese, this was the star. This very rare species has only been ever
seen in Maine a handful of times and the adult bird found at Collins Pond by
the Aroostook Birders was another first-ever for Aroostook County! Seen only on October 19th, this
one-day wonder apparently moved on quickly.
We were lucky to see it on our Wild Goose Chase outing!
Other odd geese-
there were a few other strange ones seen this season. “GL9” a Canada Goose banded in Greenland in
July 2009 was at the Limestone pond on 3 October.
Also at Limestone, an apparent Canada Goose/Swan Goose hybrid was seen on the 29th of September-the same
day as the Ross’s Goose.
Lastly, also at
Limestone, Tanya Byrum photographed a couple hazy gray geese in early November
that were apparently leucistic Canada Geese .
Definitely a goose watchers season to remember!
