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European Goose Taken in Atlantic Flyway

A group of hunters were about to call the hunt when a single honk kept them around for a big surprise!

European Goose Taken in Atlantic Flyway
Zak Appleby and friends had the opportunity to take home a rare visitor to the United States this past season. (Photo credit: Zak Appleby.)

I fired up my truck on the evening of Dec. 30, 2024.  It was time to cruise the usual scouting run that I've been traveling for years now. It's been a productive route through the rolling hills of southeastern Pennsylvania, and I’m lucky that there hasn't been a lot of change or development over that period. We’re in the heart of the Atlantic Flyway Canada goose late season and the birds get wary from heavy hunting pressure. Solid scouting is a must for any chance of success.

Often, I don't find much in the way of Canadas to hunt on fields that I have permission for, but the information I gather from a good drive is invaluable when choosing a spot to hunt the next day. On this trip, however, I received some end-of-year luck and found two fields with plenty of birds feeding in a great location for a setup.

After a few phone calls to convey the good news, the plan was set, and the rest of the evening was spent packing for the hunt and enjoying some pre-New Year’s Eve festivities with the family. The next morning, we arrived at the field just as the sky was turning the faintest pink on the horizon. Little did we know that the sunrise was foreshadowing the day that was about to unfold. It was crystal clear out and a little cooler than the previous day’s forecast at 29 degrees. A low frosty fog hung over the field as the sun started to crest the eastern mountains.

Things were relatively slow until some clouds rolled in and the first flock came honking into the spread from a long way off. Unfortunately, they landed in a less-than-ideal spot, right between us and a nearby dwelling. We couldn't fire a shot even though they were only 20 yards off the blind. The next group did the same thing which prompted a wholesale decoy move. That worked as the next group poured right into the decoys.

After picking off a few other small groups we got a pleasant surprise in a pair of greater snow geese barreling into the decoy spread. The day was off to a better start, but the morning action slowed to a crawl.

Hunters in a blind as the sun comes up.
The next morning, we arrived at the field just as the sky was turning the faintest pink on the horizon. Little did we know that the sunrise was foreshadowing the day that was about to unfold. (Photo credit: Zak Appleby.)

By late morning, we'd killed nine Canadas and two snows between the four of us. It wasn't looking good for the last three dark birds needed to round out a four-man limit of 12. We hadn't seen a goose in about an hour. Collectively it was agreed to give it 15 more minutes before pulling the plug on the hunt and start cleaning things up.

Right after making that call, we heard a distant honk from a flock of Canadas who had no interest in our setup. A few other groups started to hit the air with similar results, but optimism was renewed. Finally, a small flock of geese noticed our flagging and started in our direction, trailed by a much larger group. Needing only 3 birds to complete the limit, I was squarely focused on the locked-up group leading the way and praying to the goose-gods that they'd set into the decoys.

With each cluck of my call, they approached closer. At the last second, they saw something they didn’t like and never finished into shooting range. We didn’t realize it at the moment, but it ended up being a good thing as it gave the larger group time to get overhead and allow us to all hear and comment on an oddball squawk in the group. I waited as the birds circled and circled. We lost sight of the out-of-place bird at times but then it would call and we'd get on it again. Finally, a large portion of the Canadas began to rain in and the oddball centered over the top of the blind. I plinked away at two Canadas while everyone else focused on the "Speck."

A hunter holding a pink-footed goose.
Something immediately seemed off. I'm no expert on worldwide waterfowl identification but to me, it didn't look like any specklebelly I had ever seen. Instead, it looked like some sort of speck/snow goose cross. (Photo credit: Zak Appleby.)

There were a lot of laughs and congratulations at first as we quickly went over to retrieve the bird and take a closer look at it. Initially, we still thought it was a normal specklebelly until we picked it up and took a second to look it over. Something immediately seemed off. I'm no expert on worldwide waterfowl identification but to me, it didn't look like any specklebelly I had ever seen. Instead, it looked like some sort of speck/snow goose cross.

I started asking all kinds of questions and sending pictures to people who might know. After bouncing things around it was determined that we had harvested a bean goose which is native to Northern Europe and Northern Asia. None of us had ever heard of a bean goose. It was easy to get excited about this new visitor. I figured that we had something extremely rare and it was becoming very clear that I was right. I got a message from a different friend who identified it as a pink-footed goose. After a little bit of internet research, it was very clear that this was what we had. A close relative to the bean goose, except with noticeably pink feet! A wonderful hunt for the Atlantic Flyway. This is the only U.S. pink-footed goose harvest that we can find any record of—although our research is rather rudimentary.

There are two primary flyways for the pink-footed goose. Neither is remotely associated with the continental United States. One population breeds primarily in Greenland and Iceland. That population winters in Great Britain and Ireland. The other population breeds in Svalbard, northernmost Norway, Russia, and winters mostly in Denmark, the Netherlands, and southern Sweden.

While not iridescently beautiful, the pink-foot was striking in its own right. From a distance, it shares similarities with a specklebelly. It has a brown head with shades of purple and blue. A pinkish orange bill with a black accent, and very snow goose-like flight feathers and tail. And the pink feet!

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A European native bird, the pink-footed goose.
While not iridescently beautiful, the pink-foot was striking in its own right. (Photo credit: Zak Appleby)

This day was evidence that any outing is worth the time and effort. Now and again you get to experience something that very few ever get to see. that's what drives us all to put in the work year after year. A pink-footed goose traveling down the United States is about the biggest surprise we could have ever asked for!




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