Greetings All

The Bean Goose has graduated from elementary school and was at the High
School this morning.

In more detail. Ryan Shaw, Dennis Duffy, and I had the Bean Goose at about
8:15 this AM at the end of the runway. The bird stayed there for about 10
minutes and then flew east. We quickly relocated it at the high school
baseball field, which is on the northside of the highway, just east of the
turnoff to the airport (Paulson Rd). The Bean Goose stayed there for an hour
or more.

Mr Bean's 7 Friends (definitely not dwarves) are Vancouver Canada Geese (dark
like Dusky Canadas, big like Great Basin Canadas). These breed from south
coastal Alaska down into Vancouver Island, and it is mostly the northern
populations that are thought to be appear south of the border (down to
northern California).

The Bean Goose is the same size as the Vancouver Canadas; per Ogilvie and
Young's Wildfowl of the World, this is at or beyond the normal extreme of
Bean Goose. This is assuming that the measurements are internally consistent,
which is often not true for any guide. Anyway, it is likely that this bird is
at the larger end of the Bean Goose spectrum. Also, this bird's head
shape/size fits very well for Middendorf's Bean Goose. Also, Middendorf's
Bean Goose is a tad larger, on average, than other Bean Goose races.
Middendorf's is one of the two races that have been recorded in AK.

Finally, at the High School, the Bean Goose and the Vancouver 7 joined a
mixed flock of Canadas that was mostly Taverner's/Lesser Canadas, but
included a couple larger Canadas (probably Great Basin) and at least one
Dusky. It is not clear that Vancouver Canada Geese typically winter within
WA, so this flock may yet move farther south.

Cheers
Steve Mlodinow