I was going to write back to the Dunakins, but others might be
interested in some of this, too. This is mostly an Old World goose, with
closest breeding on the far side of Greenland. Attractive and exotic, it
is often kept in zoos and aviaries, which it sometimes escapes. At any
given time, there are likely many more escaped captive birds than wild
ones in North America. But wild ones do show up once in a while. The
most interesting Ohio reports are at least plausible--up in the NW
marshes and during winter or migration. The first well-known one was
published; see complete text below.
One wintered with Canadas in the same county 1956-7, seen by many.
Free-flying birds were seen at Magee in the early '70s, sometimes
suspiciously late in the spring. In 1973 in fact, one mated with "a
small Canada" [hmmm...] there, producing one hybrid young. Some of these
birds were thought to be escapes. A pair was shot in January 1971 there,
one of which lies in a drawer at the OSU Museum. Another was shot by
hunters in 1987 at Magee, and there have been a number of others taken
by hunters or reported by birders.
Barnacle goose is not on the official Ohio checklist. It'd be
interesting to check stable isotopes, if possible, in the existing
specimens to see if they'd come from the high Arctic. A few barnacle
geese have been admitted to state and provincial lists in the east based
in part on close association with flocks of other geese known to be
wild. Some have even been found to wear bands from Greenland. Many
captive geese are banded, too, and many captive waterfowl have clipped
hind toes. Being reasonably sure about a live Ohio bird would require a
lot of careful observation--and luck. Note behavior, association with
other species, bands, toes, etc. Get photos. A feather or a dab of guano
from the suspect might provide conclusive chemical clues; lots of luck
getting this from a flock of geese!
Bill Whan
Columbus
Barnacle Goose in Ohio.--On November 5, 1925, Mr. Chester K.
Brooks of Cleveland, Ohio, shot a fine plumaged male Barnacle Goose
(Branta leucopsis) on the marshes of the Winous Point Shooting Club near
Port Clinton, Ohio, at the head of Sandusky Bay. This bird was presented
to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History by Mr. Brooks, and is now
preserved in the collection of that institution. While it is possible
that this bird may have escaped from confinement, the condition of the
plumage gives no hint of this and the record is probably in the same
category as the other North American occurrences of the species outside
of Greenland. However, an attempt has been made to discredit, as far as
possible, the belief that this specimen had escaped from captivity. The
writer has corresponded with the directors of the leading zoological
parks of the north central states but no records of escaped Barnacle
Geese were forthcoming. Furthermore, the fact that the Cleveland Museum
specimen was accompanied by another of the same species at the time Mr.
Brooks shot it makes the chances of its being an escaped bird much less.
From the published records this Ohio bird seems to be the farthest west
record for North America, which makes additionally desirable the
publication of the occurrence.--JOHN W. ALDRICH, Cleveland Museum of
Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio. Auk 49(4):460
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