I’ve unsuccessfully chased after Pink-Footed Goose twice in Connecticut – including just a week ago. So when a post came across early on a Saturday that yet another Pink-Footed was found with 75 Canadas at a small pond at an orchard, I dropped everything to go for the chase. While en route a couple more details were posted – there was a dog show going on at the orchard and there were lots of people there. I couldn’t help but picture dogs running around chasing after all those pesky geese. But I tried to remain positive and continued to head for Middlefield.
When I arrived I could see the small pond in the distance at the edge of the main parking lot, but I was directed to park in a far-away parking lot because of all the crowds. Although there were people everywhere, including walking along the edge of the pond, I could see a small flock of geese happily swimming around the pond. When I got closer, the Pink-Footed was pretty easy to find in with the larger Canadas. At times it swam by just a few feet away, allowing for some pretty easy photos even for phone-scoping (a couple pictures inserted below). These photos confirmed that this bird was different from the one seen in CT a week earlier based on bill coloration. Almost anti-climactic after those other 2 tries, but with 2 failed efforts I guess I was due for an easy one.
This was my 4th New England state for Pink-footed (see the map below - click on the map to enlarge those little states). It’s pretty amazing how regular this species have become in New England given that it was virtually unheard of in the US not too many years ago. And this tick was number 1,900 for me in New England – just 100 to go to reach my goal of 2,000.
No comments:
Post a Comment