Pink-footed Goose Reluctant to Leave

It is Time For That Pink-footed Goose to Leave

Pink-footed Goose

[For information on the life history of the Pink-footed Goose, search 'Pink-footed Goose' on this blog.]

For the last week there has been a Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus) visiting a residential property at Newcastle Creek. The property borders Grand Lake and has a large area of snow-covered grass going down to the water.  The goose had come a few days earlier with a flock of Canada Geese and when the Canadas left about 2 or 3 days before my visit, the Pink-footed Goose remained and did not follow the flock.  It spent most of its days near a chain-link pen on the property and would fly away at night presumably to open water on the lake.  The lake was frozen in the bay adjacent to the property but open further out.  As seen in the photo below, there is still a lot of open water on Grand Lake.  According to the property owner, the goose spends its day at their place and leaves just at dark each night and returns the next morning.

Grand Lake, Showing Open Water

 I visited it on Friday, December 6 and found the goose in what appeared to be good health.  It was strange to see it apparently comfortable near a fence and allowing people to come within 30 metres.  It was obvious that this goose needed to leave to join other geese which are moving south to spend their winters from southern Maine and southward.  Many of our geese have now left the area but we still have a few left with which it could flock.  

Pink-footed Goose

There are two populations of Pink-footed Geese, the Greenland and Iceland population which winters in Great Britain and the Svalbard population which winters in the Netherlands and western Denmark. 'Our' goose is likely a Greenland goose.  Its migration is about the right distance but the wrong direction.  Instead of Great Britain, it has landed in eastern Canada.  That would not normally be a problem except that our weather is not like Great Britain.  In Great Britain a goose could feed all winter since it is not covered in ice and snow.  The question is whether this individual can figure out that it needs to go further south.  

Area in Which the Goose Has Been Staying Showing its Tracks to the Lake

The Pink-footed Goose populations have increased over the last 50 years, recovering from a serious decline.  This recovery is due to better protection on their wintering grounds.  Numbers on wintering grounds in the British Isles have risen tenfold in that time.  The same is true of the Denmark wintering flock.  

Pink-footed Goose

Before 1950 it was not known where the Pink-footed Goose bred.  In 1951 Sir Peter Scott made an expedition to Iceland and found a large breeding colony there.  There are over 10,000 breeding pairs there now.  

Now, what will happen to our lone goose at Newcastle Creek?  A report as of late today indicates that the goose did not return today for the first time.  That could be a good or a bad thing.  If it indeed has found a group of Canada Geese to flock with and is spending the night with them, that is a good thing.  If it is alone and looking for food in an area where it could get frozen in or become prey to an eagle, a fox or a coyote, that is a bad thing.  We will not know unless it is seen somewhere else.  Hopefully it will be seen with a flock of Canada Geese further down the St. John River and eventually down in Maine.  

If the goose returns to Newcastle Creek and the area it is familiar with, plans are in place for it to be captured and moved to a rehab facility to spend the winter.  Either way, we wish 'Pinkie' (as it was named) the best on its winter journey.