Hey Tweeters,
Scott Downes and I successfully chased the Bean Goose (found Saturday
by Patrick Sullivan) today in spite of the dark, dreary conditions. We began
searching there at about 8:15am, and walked around the entire area until
finally locating the bird at the west end of the air strip just before noon.
We got decent scope views from about 120 yards (the whole goose flock and
especially the Bean Goose was extremely wary, and would not allow a closer
approach), and I did get some relatively poor video through the scope. About
10 or 15 minutes later, a part of the flock flew off to the west, and
thereafter we couldn't refind the Bean. A couple other birders were in the
area, but nobody else had seen it today as of 12:45 (when we left). We would
agree that it is probably the Siberian A. f. middendorffii subspecies with a
long, somewhat thin-based bill and an orange strip near the tip of the bill.
Also present in this varied flock were several dozen Cacklers, 15 Duskies,
and 3 Snow Geese.

Good birding,
Charlie Wright
Birdking88 at aol.com
Sumner, WA