Ross’s Goose, Hendersonville, NC December 4, 2019

It was midday on the 4th when I got a call from local Hendersonville birder Wayne Forsythe – he had just found a Ross’s Goose in a pond with Canadas.  And it was right in Hendersonville!  Wayne is well-known for his knowledge of the local birding sites.  In November he found the Short-eared Owl at Hooper Lane, and he had now found the Ross’s.  It was only a 20-minute drive away, and I was free, so within just a couple minutes I was out the door and hoping that my target Ross’s Goose would stick around on the pond and not leave to feed in nearby fields. 

Wayne had spotted the bird on a small pond at a site called Camp Pinewood just northeast of downtown.  When I arrived I found the site blocked off by a gate, but the pond was still visible looking through the gate.   And with a quick scan I found the Ross’s swimming among about 100 Canadas.  A small white goose really sticks out among the Canadas.  Though there were about a half dozen Mute Swan decoys on the lake that caused a bit of confusion.  Here are a couple phonescoped shots of this diminutive goose.

That was statebird number 274 for my NC list.  Great to be connected with Wayne and so many other excellent birders in the area.

Numbers of both white geese have increased dramatically in the last couple decades.  For instance, in the 1983 First Edition of the National Geographic guide, Ross’s was shown as a wintering bird in just 5 states – LA, TX, NM, CA, and OR.  While the 2008 Fifth Edition shows a wintering range of more than a dozen states including much of the Mid-South and a couple east coast states.  A couple decades ago my work travels used to take me to Memphis, TN, and I took advantage of those trips to add birding time in five states in the Mid-South – TN, KY, MO, AR, and MS.  Ross’s was just starting to expand its range there at the time, and I was able to find Ross’s in each of these states.  

I really fell in love with this little goose during these Memphis trips, and have continued to enjoy looking for it across the country where today it is either regular or a sought-after rarity in virtually every state.  My statebird map for Ross’s Goose is inserted below – solid shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species; cross-hatched states are those where it is regular but I haven’t seen it yet.  I’m especially happy with my results in New England, having seen Ross’s in all 6 where it is still exceptionally rare though increasing.