20 November 2010 Sudbury. Photo by Eric Neilsen
38 records
| MARC number | Decision | Count | Location | County | Arrival | Departure | Observers | Notes | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-024 | A | 1 | Dennis Pines Golf Course | Barnstable | 1/16/1999 | 2/20/1999 | Randy Fisher*, ph. D. Crockett, †S. Smolen-Morton, ph. †Jeremiah Trimble | needs prior reviewe to be captured | 15 |
| 2009-010 | A | 1 | Salt Pond, Falmouth | Barnstable | 1/12/2009 | 1/15/2009 | Greg Hirth*, Marshall Iliff (ph), Jeremiah Trimble (ph), m. ob. | 14 | |
| 2010-042 | A | 1 | Sudbury/Concord | Middlesex | 11/17/2010 | 12/26/2010 | George Gove*, Jeremiah Trimble (ph), Erik Nielsen (ph), J. P. Smith (ph) | 16 | |
| 2011-045 | A | 1 | Turner's Falls | Franklin | 10/26/2011 | 10/28/2011 | James P. Smith* (ph), C.&D. Fisher (ph) | 16 | |
| 2011-048 | A | 1 | Bear Creek Sanctuary, Saugus | Essex | 12/11/2011 | 12/14/2011 | Paul Peterson, Ryan Schain (ph), Marshall Iliff, et al. | 17 | |
| 2011-049 | A | 1 | Muschopauge Pond, Rutland | Worcester | 12/17/2011 | 12/18/2011 | Mark Lynch, Kevin Bourinot* | 17 | |
| 2012-083 | A | 1 | Upper Artichoke Reservoir, West Newbury | Essex | 10/20/2012 | 10/20/2012 | George Gove (ph) | 17 | |
| 2014-004 | A | 1 | Pilgrim Rd., Hatfield/Whately | Hampshire | 3/23/2014 | 3/30/2014 | S. Motyl, Larry Therrien* (ph) | 19 | |
| 2015-010 | A | 1 | Turner's Falls Power Canal | Franklin | 11/25/2015 | 11/25/2015 | James P. Smith* (ph) | 20 | |
| 2016-001 | A | 1 | Longmeadow area (various locations near Longmeadow along Connecticut River) | Hampden | 1/16/2016 | 2/23/2016 | S. Motyl, A. Robblee* (ph) | 20 | |
| 2016-022 | A | 1 | West Newbury, Newburyport, and Ipswich | Essex | 11/6/2016 | 3/10/2017 | Robert Gervais* | 21 | |
| 2016-023 | A | 1 | Stockbridge Rd., Hadley, UMass Amherst campus pond, Amherst | Hampshire | 12/6/2016 | 12/10/2017 | Larry Therrien* (ph) | 21 | |
| 2016-024 | A | 1 | Cambridge Reservoir and Concord Fields, Concord | Middlesex | 12/4/2017 | 12/15/2017 | Cliff Cook*, Jason Forbes (ph) | 21 | |
| 2017-097 | A | 1 | Barton Cove, Gill | Franklin | 10/30/2017 | 10/30/2017 | James Smith* (ph) | 22 | |
| 2017-098 | A | 1 | Granville Road, Westfield | Hampden | 11/1/2017 | 11/2/2017 | Griffin Richards* (ph) | 22 | |
| 2017-099 | A | 1 | Turner's Falls Rod and Gun | Franklin | 11/5/2017 | 11/5/2017 | Josh Layfield* (ph) | 22 | |
| 2018-010 | A | 1 | Berkley Bridge (Elm Street), Berkley; 392 Market Street, Swansea; Barney Avenue Fields, Rehoboth | Bristol | 1/28/2018 | 2/26/2018 | Glenn d'Entremont*; Glen Chretien (ph), Liam Waters (ph), Jim Sweeney (ph) | 22 | |
| 2018-069 | A | 1 | Argilla-Northgate-Essex Rd. fields, Ipswich | Essex | 11/8/2018 | 11/15/2018 | Phil Brown* (ph) | 23 | |
| 2019-086 | A | 1 | Stephen's Field, Plymouth | Plymouth | 12/1/2019 | 12/2/2019 | John Galluzzo* (ph) | 24 | |
| 2019-120 | A | 1 | Longmeadow Flats | Hampden | 11/16/2019 | 11/23/2019 | Ted Gilliland* (ph) | 24 | |
| 2019-128 | A | 1 | Somerset Reservoir & Quirck Mello Conservation Area, Somerset | Bristol | 12/6/2019 | 1/5/2020 | Matthew Eckerson* (ph) | 24 | |
| 2020-028 | A | 1 | Rte. 105/Vaughan Hill Rd. fields, Rochester | Plymouth | 2/23/2020 | 3/20/2020 | Brian Vigorito* (ph), Myer Bornstein* | 24 | |
| 2020-032 | A | 1 | UMASS Dartmouth Campus, North Dartmouth | Bristol | 3/28/2020 | 3/28/2020 | Zach Moser*, Dan Zimberlin (ph) | 24 | |
| 2020-106 | A | 1 | Duck Creek Marsh, Wellfleet & Eldredge Park & Boland Pond, Orleans | Barnstable | 11/26/2020 | 12/27/2020 | Peggy Sagan* (ph), Mark Faherty (ph) | 25 | |
| 2021-025 | A | 1 | 362 Horseneck Rd, South Dartmouth | Bristol | 1/26/2021 | 4/25/2021 | Arthur Rainville* (ph), Beverly King*, Carlo Molander* (ph), Sue Walas* | 25 | |
| 2021-028 | A | 1 | Forte Park, Newton | Middlesex | 3/5/2021 | 3/20/2021 | Gary Oines* (ph), Marshall Iliff (ph) | 25 | |
| 2021-088 | A | 4 | Longmeadow Flats | Hampden | 12/11/2021 | 12/11/2021 | Jeremy Spool*, Meghadeepa Maity* (ph) | SAME BIRD ISSUES: At its Oct 2024 annual meeting, the MARC formally linked Connecticut Valley records from Dec 2021 and 6-14 Mar 2022 as pertaining to the same wandering group of up to four birds. The fact that as of 2024, this was one of few records of multiple birds and the only US record of as ma | 26 |
| 2021-091 | A | 1 | Shaw Rd., Fairhaven and Mill Rd., Fairhaven | Bristol | 12/14/2021 | 12/17/2021 | Dan Mckinnon*, m.ob. | SAME BIR DISSUES: Not mentioned in published annual report, but Fairhaven (14-17 Dec 2021; 2021-091) and Somerset (21 Dec 2021; 2021-096) were the same individual, based on unique bill deformity shown on both records; this was reaffirmed by MARC at its October 2024 annual meeting | 26 |
| 2021-092 | A | 1 | Stanley Park | Hampden | 12/16/2021 | 12/18/2021 | Frank Bowrys* (ph) | 26 | |
| 2021-096 | A | 1 | 2236 Riverside Ave., Somerset | Bristol | 12/21/2021 | 12/21/2021 | Jim Sweeney* (ph), m.ob. (ph) | SAME BIRD ISSUES: Not mentioned in published annual report, but Fairhaven (14-17 Dec 2021; 2021-091) and Somerset (21 Dec 2021; 2021-096) were the same individual, based on unique bill deformity shown on both records; this was reaffirmed by MARC at its October 2024 annual meeting | 26 |
| 2022-003 | A | 2 | Connecticut River, Hadley (Mitch’s Way and Hadley Bridge) | Hampshire | 1/4/2022 | 1/4/2022 | Mary McKitrick* (ph), m.ob. | 26 | |
| 2022-005 | A | 1 | Duxbury High School area | Plymouth | 1/12/2022 | 1/16/2022 | Emily Szczypek* (ph), m. ob. | 26 | |
| 2022-017 | A | 4 | Longmeadow Flats | Hampden | 3/6/2022 | 3/6/2022 | Ted Gilliland* (ph) | SAME BIRD ISSUES: At its Oct 2024 annual meeting, the MARC formally linked Connecticut Valley records from Dec 2021 and 6-14 Mar 2022 as pertaining to the same wandering group of up to four birds. The fact that as of 2024, this was one of few records of multiple birds and the only US record of as ma | 26 |
| 2022-018 | A | 1 | Bolton Flats | Worcester | 3/6/2022 | 3/17/2022 | Valerie Burdette* (ph) | 26 | |
| 2022-069 | A | up to 4 | Northampton area (various sites) | Hampshire | 3/7/2022 | 3/14/2022 | Ted Gilliland* (ph), m.ob. | SAME BIRD ISSUES: At its Oct 2024 annual meeting, the MARC formally linked Connecticut Valley records from Dec 2021 and 6-14 Mar 2022 as pertaining to the same wandering group of up to four birds. The fact that as of 2024, this was one of few records of multiple birds and the only US record of as ma | 26 |
| 2024-093 | A | 2 | Ward's Fields | Norfolk | 12/24/2024 | 12/27/2024 | Liam Waters*, Will Sweet (ph), m. ob. | SAME BIRD ISSUES: The MARC considered whether this individual might have been seen eslewhere, but decided to keep the three records as separate (2024-093, 2025-003, and 2025-004) in the same winter; the MARC voted 4-5 in favor of not linking these records and for treating as separate individuals | 29 |
| 2025-003 | A | 1 | Cumberland Farms--Wingbusters RC Field | Plymouth | 1/1/2025 | 1/1/2025 | Peter Steinbach* (ph), m. ob. | SAME BIRD ISSUES: The MARC considered whether this individual might have been seen eslewhere, but decided to keep the three records as separate (2024-093, 2025-003, and 2025-004) in the same winter; the MARC voted 4-5 in favor of not linking these records and for treating as separate individuals | 29 |
| 2025-004 | A | 1 | The Kittansett Club, Marion | Plymouth | 1/4/2025 | 1/4/2025 | Carol Baird Molander* (ph), m. ob. | SAME BIRD ISSUES: The MARC considered whether this individual might have been seen eslewhere, but decided to keep the three records as separate (2024-093, 2025-003, and 2025-004) in the same winter; the MARC voted 4-5 in favor of not linking these records and for treating as separate individuals | 29 |
Pink-footed Goose breeds in e. Greenland, Iceland, and Spitsbergen and winters in nw. Europe. The population is increasing and vagrants in the Northeast are occurring with increased frequency.
The first two Massachusetts records for Pink-footed Goose both hailed from Cape Cod during January. Both birds have been found among Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) flocks and have been widely seen and well-photographed. The 1999 bird was initially considered “origin uncertain”, but is currently being rereviewed.
STATUS IN THE EAST: The population of this species is growing rapidly in Iceland and Greenland. The first records from North America were from Newfoundland (10 May-3 Jun 1980; AB 34:755) and Quebec (6-21 Oct 1988). Since that time, there have been a number of additional records from Newfoundland (including a small flight in spring 1995), Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Quebec. Recent records from Rhode Island (two, Jan-Feb 2007, Newport) and Long Island (two, Nov 2007-Feb 2008) were thought to possibly pertain to the same wandering individuals. Some thought that the Massachusetts record and one in New York in 2009 may have pertained to the same individuals wandering separately, but we consider it unlikely given that goose pairs mate for life and that the rapid increase in eastern records supports the notion that multiple individuals might occur in the East in a given year. Some analyses were done of bill patterns of Pink-footed Geese on the East Coast in 2012-2013, and similar analyses might shed light on past and future records.
IDENTIFICATION NOTES: With good views, this species is distinctive with its stubby dark bill with a pinkish saddle, pink legs, and grayish body plumage. One Massachusetts record was briefly considered to pertain to Tundra Bean-Goose (Anser fabalis) or Taiga Bean-Goose (Anser serrirostris), but good views of the bill structure and leg color eliminated that possibility (bean-geese have orange legs vs. pink on Pink-footed). Tundra Bean-Goose has occurred in Nebraska and Quebec and should be considered a possible but extremely unlikely vagrant to Massachusetts.