My husband, Arden, along with Mary Ann & Glenn Teague made the trip to
Bowerman Basin today and saw the Bean Geese in question. When the geese were
spooked by a truck, Canada Geese took off but the two Bean Geese returned to
the remaining flock at the end of the runway. Mary Ann & I were looking
through the binoculars at them and both of us thought the legs looked more
orangish but as we looked through the scope later they seemed
pinkish-orange. Back home we referred to our library of books.

"Waterfowl" by Steve Madge and Hilary Burn gives this discription:

PINK-FOOTED GOOSE: Description: Bill variable patterned, black with bright
pink subterminal band and other patches along sides of upper mandible. Legs
deep pink, vary rarely orange (Adult).Juvenile has duller pale
greyish-flesh, sometimes yellowish-grey but becoming pinker during first
winter. The Pink-footed is closely related to the Bean Goose and often
match the structure of some Beans of the race rossicus. Occasional
pink-legged Bean (Geese) and orange-legged Pink-footed (Geese) reinforce the
close relationship between these two species. In flight: Distinguished
from other 'grey' geese by markedly light grey forewing. (This is something
observers could check out. We did not know this when we saw them briefly in
flight.)

BEAN GOOSE: Leg descriptions: Bean has dull fleshy legs and it should be
borne in mind that under some lighting conditions it may be difficult to
decide whether leg color is dull orange or dull pink.

>From our observations and the descriptions in our books, the bill shape and
size would seem to indicate BEAN GOOSE. Leg descriptions could go either
way. Peterson's Field Guide to Birds of Britain and Europe shows the
Pink-footed Goose as much lighter on the wings and back than the Bean Goose.
We did not see this on these two geese.

We will be waiting to see what more birders have to say on these two geese.
My digital photos show dull pinkish legs.

Sherry Hagen
Vancouver, WA
littlebirder at netzero.net