[wisb] Re: no sighting, question ?
- From: Nick Anich <nicka29@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: wisbirdn <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2011 20:56:55 -0700 (PDT)
Steve, here's the story behind the AR Barnacle Goose, from a post on the AR
list.
Nick Anich
Ashland, WI
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2011 06:30:44 -0600
Reply-To: The Birds of Arkansas Discussion List <ARBIRD-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sender: The Birds of Arkansas Discussion List <ARBIRD-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: joeneal <joeneal@xxxxxxxx>
Subject: Barnacle Goose accepted for first Arkansas record
Comments: cc: "Beall, Bill" <billtoka@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"Chapman, David" <dchapman@xxxxxxxx>,
"Doster, Robert" <calcarius@xxxxxxxxxxx>,
"James, Douglas A." <djames@xxxxxxxx>,
"Kellner, Chris" <ckellner@xxxxxxx>,
"Krementz, David" <krementz@xxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; DelSp="Yes"; format="flowed"
Content-Disposition: inline
The Arkansas Audubon Society's Bird Records Committee has been engaged in an
extensive and interesting discussion about the Barnacle Goose initially found
by Kenny and LaDonna Nichols on 27 December 2010, at Pine Bluff, and tallied
for the Pine Bluff CBC by Rob Doster on the following day. The committee has
settled on acceptance for a first state record. There has never been doubt that
the ID as a Barnacle was correct. But without evidence that it was a wild bird,
it proved difficult to accept as a first for the state. However, several lines
of evidence pushed in the direction of acceptance.
1. Observers didn't see anything in the bird's appearance or behavior
suggesting it was escaped from domestication.
2. It was associated with Cackling Geese. It is thought Barnacle Goose is
derived from Cackling, so this would be logical. Cacklers breed across northern
Canada and it may be the Barnacle strayed from typical migration and linked up
with the Cacklers.
3. At the time of this record, there were an estimated 15,000 Ross's Geese that
had migrated into the same area occupied by the Cacklers and the Barnacle.
Kenny Nichols viewed neck collars on 3 Ross's Geese. The report he received
from USGS shows they were banded in NE Canada, not so far from Greenland where
Barnacles occur. This information suggests this goose may have gone west
instead of east (the typical migration direction for Barnacles in winter) with
Cacklers. All of this was part of a significant movement of geese as
illustrated by the huge flock of Ross's Geese; we know where at least where 3
of these birds were banded. As Kenny Nichols wrote on February 7, 2011, about
the ongoing discussion within the BRC, ?If the Barnacle Goose had been seen in
Russellville with the Canadas for two years, if it had been seen on a farm pond
with a bunch of domestics, or if it were seen anywhere in the state at a time
outside of the "winter season", we wouldn't
be having this discussion. Instead, it was with what were obviously wild birds
that had migrated a great distance to winter here. So, in a sense, it was
"acting wild". Cackling Geese and Snow Geese both nest on Greenland just as
Barnacle Geese do so, I don't think it's such a stretch to think that this bird
might be wild.
It's difficult and usually impossible to prove the negative: that this bird for
certain is not escaped from captivity. However, it is the conclusion of the BRC
that the exceptional movement of geese into central Arkansas included a wild
Barnacle Goose.
-- JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas
Subject: no sighting, question ?
From: "Steve Thiessen" <stevethiessen AT charter.net>
Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2011 20:50:14 -0500
Reading the American Birds CBC issue, I noticed that Arkansas had their first
Barnacle Goose record. In the back, it doesn't say escape. I didn't think that
any were countable. Although the northeast coast is ok. We've learned that
there is no sure way to tell. But they should be the questionable.
So what's the records commitees take on this issue. I know a number of
Barnacle Geese have been seen in the wild in Wisconsin, over the years.
Thanks, Steve Thiessen Stoughton Dane co.
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