Jay,

Escape is the default position absent some other evidence, but one shouldn't 
necessarily assume all Barnacle geese to be escapes.   After the Viginia bird 
a few years ago I went back through about 35 years worth of Audubon Field 
Notes/American Birds/North American Birds and found that the overwhelming majority 
of "escaped" Barnacle geese occurred east of the Appalachians and north of 
the Potomac River.   That caused me to say something like "Hmmmm".   Could 
waterfowl collectors in the northeast be that much more careless than collectors 
elsewhere?   Or might it be that some of these Barnacle Geese might actually be 
authentic vagrants?   Incidentally, in the year of the Virginia bird the 
number of reports in North American Birds spiked to about three times the 35-year 
average, suggesting either a coordinated jailbreak of collector birds or 
perhaps an atypical influx of true vagrants.

The problem lies in trying to differentiate between an escape and a vagrant.  
 Collectors often clip the hind toes of their birds for reasons lost in 
antiquity (my guess is that it started with gamecocks that could tear each other to 
shreds in close quarters).   The Barnacle Goose in Garrett County at Little 
Meadows Lake in fact lacks a hind toe on the right foot as viewed this morning 
while it grazed in the grass next to the water.   My guess would be that this 
is an escape, but the absence of the hind toe is certainly not proof.   

Absent a band from a European program, what other evidence might suggest a 
vagrant?   Check the other geese that came in with it.   The presence of the 
Greenland race of Greater White-fronted Goose and/or Cackling Geese, which now 
breed in Greenland, would suggest that the flock might have come from Greenland. 
  This was the case with the Virginia bird as well as the bird that seems to 
make one day stopovers at Great Oak Pond in Kent County on its way south and 
north with the seasons.   The Little Meadows Lake bird was with Interior Canada 
Geese but no other goose species.   As with the hind toe criterion, the 
composition of the flock is not proof, but if you wish to make a case for 
legitimate vagrant Barnacle Geese vs escapes, you might wish to have such supporting 
evidence.

As always, you count whatever you choose to count on your personal lists, not 
what somebody else thinks you should count.
In a message dated 12/2/06 10:30:07 PM,  writes:


> All,
> 
> Wouldn't you all naturally assume that this Barnacle is an escape?
> 
> Jay Keller
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Paul O'Brien" <>
> To: <>
> Sent: Saturday, December 02, 2006 10:13 PM
> Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Barnacle Goose Updates?
> 
> 
> Thanks Ray.   I'll give it a try tomorrow.
> 
> Paul O'Brien
> Rockville, Mont. Co., MD
> 
> In a message dated 12/2/06 4:27:45 PM,  writes:
> 
> 
> > Paul,
> >
> > The Barnacle was not present when I arrived at Little Meadows this morning
> > at 7:00. I found it briefly a little later on a pond just off Rt. 40 near
> > Little Meadows. It did return to Little Meadows a bit later - perhaps
> > around 8:30 per phone calls I received from Aaron Holochworst [sp?] and
> > Mikey Lutmerding and JB Churchill. I returned and watched the bird on the
> > lake from 9:30 to 10:45 when I left. It was still there at that time. It
> > does, as would be expected, fly off the lake to presumably feed in
> > neighboring fields before returning to the lake. So hanging around to give
> > it an opportunity to return would make sense for anyone planning to chase
> > the bird. As has been noted, it is a very attractive bird.
> >
> > Ray
> >
> > Ray Kiddy
> > Cumberland, Allegany County, MD
> >
> >
> 
>