[birding] Re: [obol] Red-breasted Goose origins

[Jeff Gilligan]

Hello all:  The source who purportedly lost the Red-breasted Goose, but
denied that he had lost one, is entirely credible.  There is more to this
than I care to post on OBOL or Mid Valley Birds, but that I will eventually
discuss with the OBRC if that is a matter of significance to the committee
in regard to considering this record.   Jeff Gilligan


On 4/13/09 7:26 PM, "Joel Geier" <joel.geier at peak.org> wrote:

> Hello folks,
> 
> First let me say that the Red-breasted Goose being seen is a stunning
> bird, acts wild, and is probably worth a look in any case. This may be
> the closest you will ever come to seeing an indisputably wild Red-
> breasted Goose, unless you are of sufficient means to travel on a
> birding expedition to central Siberia.
> 
> However, having been Willamette basin field notes compiler for /Oregon
> Birds/ during the time when (presumably) this goose was first seen
> wandering our local grass fields, I feel that I should share what facts
> & hearsay I can remember.
> 
> That year, a Red-breasted Goose was initially reported near McMinnville,
> then at several points successively farther south, over the period of a
> couple of weeks, until it wound up at Finley NWR and was associating
> with a flock of cacklers.
> 
> Coincidentally, McMinnville is where an exotic-waterfowl breeder has had
> a flock of 20 or more unpinioned Red-breasted Geese. An acquaintance of
> that breeder (first name Chris, I forget his last name now) informed
> Portland birder Khanh Tran that the breeder had lost one of his Red-
> breasted Geese. Khanh reported this on the OBOL list-serv.
> 
> One of the members of the Oregon Bird Records Committee took the step of
> contacting the breeder, and according to his report, the breeder denied
> having lost a goose.
> 
> All vagrancy theories aside, we are basically left to choose between the
> report of the one person who said the breeder had lost a goose, and the
> reported denial by the breeder.
> 
> As an aside, having raised exotic gamebirds in Minnesota in my youth,
> and having gotten to know a bit of that trade, I can think of several
> reasons why a breeder might deny having lost even a valuable bird. It
> doesn't look good, and it can bring unwanted attention from the people
> who regulate this trade.
> 
> I cannot think of any obvious motive for someone falsely reporting that
> a breeder had lost a goose. Of course we have no way of knowing all of
> the personal circumstances, but at least outwardly this makes no sense
> to me. I have heard some dog-in-the-manger theories based on experiences
> elsewhere but can't see how those hold water in this case. It is far
> easier for me to imagine why a breeder might want to avoid scrutiny of
> his pens.
> 
> Since that time, one Red-breasted Goose has been reported each year in
> the Willamette Valley. Not two, not three, not zero, but always one bird
> that keeps showing up at Finley. If there were a natural vagrancy
> pattern, why no variability in the number seen per season?
> 
> Personally I cannot see any reason to assume that this is anything other
> than a captive Red-breasted Goose that escaped, gradually built up its
> wing muscles after captivity, joined up with a flock of cacklers, and
> began to migrate with them.
> 
> I am curious how this bird spends its summers -- could it be paired with
> one of the cacklers? That might be something interesting to watch. If
> you are not too worried about whether or not the goose is "countable,"
> this could be a fascinating study in how a (presumed) once-captive goose
> takes up association with a distantly related species.
> 
> Happy birding,
> Joel
> 
> --
> Joel Geier
> Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
> 
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