Pink-footed Goose

26 records

MARC numberSpecies#LocationCountyArrivalDepartureObserversReport
1999-24Pink-footed Goose1Dennis Pines Golf CourseBarnstable1/16/19992/20/1999Randy Fisher*, ph. D. Crockett, †S. Smolen-Morton, ph. †J. Trimble15
2009-10Pink-footed Goose1Salt Pond, FalmouthBarnstable1/12/20091/15/200914
2010-42Pink-footed Goose1Sudbury/ConcordMiddlesex11/17/201012/26/2010G. Gove*, J. Trimble (ph), E. Nielsen (ph), J. P. Smith (ph)16
2011-045Pink-footed Goose1Turner's FallsFranklin10/26/201110/28/2011J.P. Smith* (ph), C.&D. Fisher (ph)16
2011-048Pink-footed Goose1Bear Creek Sanctuary, SaugusEssex12/11/201112/14/2011P. Peterson, R. Schain (ph), M. Iliff, et al.17
2011-049Pink-footed Goose1Muschopauge Pond, RutlandWorcester12/17/201112/18/2011Mark Lynch, Kevin Bourinot*17
2012-083Pink-footed Goose1Upper Artichoke ReservoirEssex10/20/201210/20/2012G. Gove (ph)17
2014-004Pink-footed Goose1Pilgrim Rd., Hatfield/WhatelyHampshire3/23/20143/30/2014ph. S. Motyl, L. Therrien*19
2015-010Pink-footed Goose1Turner's Falls Power Canal, GillFranklin11/25/201511/25/2015ph. J. Smith*20
2016-001Pink-footed Goose1Longmeadow area (various locations near Longmeadow along Connecticut River)Hampden1/16/20162/23/2016ph. S. Motyl, A. Robblee*20
2016-022Pink-footed Goose1West Newbury, Newburyport, and IpswichEssex11/6/20163/10/2017Robert Gervais*21
2016-023Pink-footed Goose1Stockbridge Rd., Hadley, UMass Amherst campus pond, AmherstHampshire12/6/201612/10/2017Larry Therrien* (ph)21
2016-024Pink-footed Goose1Cambridge Reservoir and Concord Fields, ConcordMiddlesex12/4/201712/15/2017Cliff Cook*, Jason Forbes (ph)21
2017-097Pink-footed Goose1Barton Cove, GillFranklin10/30/201710/30/2017James Smith* (ph)22
2017-098Pink-footed Goose1Granville Road, WestfieldHampden11/1/201711/2/2017Griffin Richards* (ph)22
2017-099Pink-footed Goose1Turner's Falls Rod and GunFranklin11/5/201711/5/2017Josh Layfield* (ph)22
2018-010Pink-footed Goose1Berkley Bridge (Elm Street), Berkley; 392 Market Street, Swansea; Barney Avenue Fields, RehobothBristol1/28/20182/26/2018Glenn d'Entremont*; Glen Chretien (ph), Liam Waters (ph), Jim Sweeney (ph)22
2018-069Pink-footed Goose1Argilla-Northgate Fields, IpwsiwchEssex11/8/201811/15/2018Phil Brown* (ph)23
2019-086Pink-footed Goose1Stephen's Field, PlymouthPlymouth12/1/201912/2/2019John Galluzzo* (ph)24
2019-120Pink-footed Goose1Longmeadow Flats, LongmeadowHampden11/16/201911/23/2019Ted Gilliland* (ph)24
2019-128Pink-footed Goose1Somerset Reservoir & Quirck Mello Conservation Area, SomersetBristol12/6/20191/5/2020Matthew Eckerson* (ph)24
2020-028Pink-footed Goose1Rte. 105/Vaughan Hill Rd. fields, RochesterPlymouth2/23/20203/20/2020Brian Vigorito* (ph), Myer Bornstein*24
2020-032Pink-footed Goose1UMass Dartmouth Campus, North DartmouthBristol3/28/20203/28/2020Zach Moser*, Dan Zimberlin (ph)24
2020-106Pink-footed Goose1Duck Creek Marsh, Wellfleet & Eldredge Park & Boland Pond, OrleansBarnstable11/26/202012/27/2020Peggy Sagan* (ph), Mark Faherty (ph)25
2021-025Pink-footed Goose1362 Horseneck Rd, South DartmouthBristol1/26/20214/25/2021Arthur Rainville* (ph), Beverly King*, Carlo Molander* (ph), Sue Walas*25
2021-028Pink-footed Goose1Forte Park, NewtonMiddlesex3/5/20213/20/2021Gary Oines* (ph), Marshall Iliff (ph) 25

 

Fig. 1. Pink-footed Goose – Dennis, MA – 19 January 1999 by J. R. Trimble

 

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.