A small flock of Red-breasted Geese showed up in a flock of wild
Snow/Ross's Geese at the Salton Sea in s California about 1970 and after
much speculation and research were traced to a game farm in Alberta! So
they can fly.

Gene Hunn

On Mon, 2 Oct 1995, Maureen Ellis wrote:

> Cindy,
>
> We also still have "our" recent arrival of a red-breasted goose at the
> Des Moines Marina/Beach Park area. Saturday, I saw it grazing the lawns and
> trying to get a share of the ubiquitous goodies tossed out by the daily
> mobile bird feeders (the gulls, mallards, and bigger geese get the best
> of the handouts).
>
> I have contacted several people in the Puget Sound
> area who raise these geese, and one person in North Seattle did have a
> goose escape last year. The thought is that geese born and raised in
> captivity cannot survive in the wild. So, now we have two of these
> beautiful geese mixed in with the feral and winter resident water fowl
> flocks.
>
> Perhaps, proximity to people with freebees and large open lawns of grass
> to eat keeps them alive. They are native to Siberia (WA should be no
> challenge even in the winter!). Coyotes and great horned owls find them
> a succulent morsel if they can catch them in top-open pens; most of the
> local breeders totally enclose goose pens with wire mesh. However, I
> suspect the "escaped" geese have a better chance of avoiding predators if
> they are with mixed, free-flying flocks of other ducks and geese.
>
> The Des Moines goose is not pinioned, not does it have a leg band. How
> about the Kirkland bird?
>
> Maureen E. Ellis
> Tox Group at Roos 1
> DEH, SPHM, Box 354695
> Univ of WA
> Seattle, WA 98195
> me2 at u.washington.edu
>
> ****************************************************************************
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sat, 30 Sep 1995, rodney mullins wrote:
>
> > Has anyone please got any information on this extremely beautiful bird? I
> > recently saw one in the Kirkland WA area and have been told by the U.S. Fish
> > and Wildlife Dept. that is probably an escapee from a collection but no other
> > info. I have some really great photos of it. I am a newbie as far as
> > birding goes and this was a big experience for me. I would really appreciate
> > anything anyone can tell me.
> > Thanks in advance.
> >
> > Cindy Steele
> > Kent, WA
> >
> > Rod_Mullins at msn.com
> >
>