On 14 November Raymond Belhumeur and Gilles Éthier discovered an ABA Code-5 Graylag Goose (Anser anser) of unknown provenance, but currently thought to be a wild type, frequenting with a large flock of Canada Geese at Saint-Mathias-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada. The bird was in Chambly Basin at a small urban park, Parc des Voiles. On 3 November 2010 a Graylag Goose of unknown provenance was frequenting with a large flock of Canada Geese in Masstown, Nova Scotia.
The only currently accepted record of Graylag Goose in the ABA Area is of one photographed on a ship about 200 km southeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland, from 24 April−2 May 2005 (NAB 59:396). “Origin unknown” is often the tag given to out-of-range waterfowl.
The Graylag Goose is a polytypic species that breeds from Iceland to the Russian Far East. Northern populations are extensively migratory, wintering south to the Mediterranean and northern Africa, as well as from India, Asia Minor, and Indochina (ABA Checklist, Seventh Edition, Pranty et al.). Non-breeding Graylag Geese perform a molt migration to well defined molting areas where they molt their primaries simultaneously and are flightless for about 28 days. The freshwater marsh, Oostvaardersplassen, is currently the most important molting site for this species in Europe.
To read more about the Quebec Graylag Goose in French, please visit:
www.birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/ORNQ.html#1321414956
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