Goose Banded Maricopa County, 2009 - Harvested Maricopa County, 2014

[CouesPursuit]

Lesser Canada Goose, my first banded waterfowl.

Banded Maricopa County, 2009 - Harvested Maricopa County, 2014

Only speculation of whether this bird was a permanent resident, she was shot in a remote location and did not have callused "park feet" according to the taxidermist.

[Big Browns]

Very cool!!!!!!!!!!!!

[maydayretrievers]

well good for you were u get him at all the geese I been hunting all out on the big lake now they wised up

[yotebuster]

you sure it was a lesser? They only nest in the tundra and migrate there every spring and back in the fall.

[CouesPursuit]

you sure it was a lesser? They only nest in the tundra and migrate there every spring and back in the fall.

Similar to its residency status, I'm sure it is speculation at best. But, I suppose I felt comfortable taking the word of an experienced taxidermist and sharing it here.

 

Does it really matter for you, yotebuster? Should I go ahead and edit the post so there is no confusion?

[yotebuster]

you sure it was a lesser? They only nest in the tundra and migrate there every spring and back in the fall.

Similar to its residency status, I'm sure it is speculation at best. But, I suppose I felt comfortable taking the word of an experienced taxidermist and sharing it here.

 

Does it really matter for you, yotebuster? Should I go ahead and edit the post so there is no confusion?

 

Wasn't trying to be rude, just curious. Weird things happen, maybe it was a resident lesser. I've seen them here in ND all summer, usually cripples or juvenile birds that don't make it back to the tundra. Just curious is all. Do you have any pics of the bird?

[CouesPursuit]

you sure it was a lesser? They only nest in the tundra and migrate there every spring and back in the fall.

Similar to its residency status, I'm sure it is speculation at best. But, I suppose I felt comfortable taking the word of an experienced taxidermist and sharing it here.

 

Does it really matter for you, yotebuster? Should I go ahead and edit the post so there is no confusion?

 

Wasn't trying to be rude, just curious. Weird things happen, maybe it was a resident lesser. I've seen them here in ND all summer, usually cripples or juvenile birds that don't make it back to the tundra. Just curious is all. Do you have any pics of the bird?

Sorry to jump. But in all seriousness, the taxidermist didn't hesitate to share with excitement that he believed it was a lesser.

The bird had a pale breast in respect to the other "greaters" I have taken earlier in the season and it was by far the smallest. The 5 years the bird has been carrying a band tells me it isn't just a juvenile (yes could be a subadult) but both the taxidermist and I felt he was in great body condition and a mature bird. We compared him with other recently mounted geese in the studio and again, he was the smallest in any comparison. They are considered to be one of the most interbred goose species as well, so I should just call him a Canada from here on out, should it matter.

My others photos reveal the area more than I would like to share for now, still a week of season left..

[johnnie blaze]

Nice kill. If he wasn't resident, he musta been a true snowbird. Lol. Was he flocked or just a single?

[CouesPursuit]

Thanks, lol, snowbird! He was paired. I had elected to continue to shoot all 3 shells into him to make sure he dropped, but I sure am glad I picked the bird on the right!

[acftfireman]

That's pretty cool. I hunt ducks non stop up here until everything freezes and I have only killed 2 banded ducks.

[Couzer]

Very cool, what are the chances to get one tagged in Maricopa? Very nice trophy, love the lab in your avatar!

[CouesPursuit]

Very cool, what are the chances to get one tagged in Maricopa? Very nice trophy, love the lab in your avatar!

There has been an ongoing study and banding effort for geese in Maricopa county based the number of new residents staying behind every year. I'm sure it wasn't at all likely before that effort.

 

When I get the official USGS certificate via email, I will be able to see the bander's info and I will likely pursue some more info from there. I'll share it back here as it's available..

 

And thank you, Drake is a wonderful dog.

[CouesPursuit]

The Canada goose was an AZ native, a local trophy.

 

It was banded by AZGFD at Vista del Camino park in June '09 with the description "Too young to fly."

[Big Browns]

It's still a Goose! Great job! I'm very jealous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CouesPursuit]

Although I'm always one to look at the silver lining in anything, I'm actually quite happy with the result.

-First band period, broke the ice.

-I'm an AZ native as well as the goose so that's cool.

-I found out that a park-born juvenile had enough "wild" in her that she left the park and golf courses and chose to live in a rugged section of desert river.

 

Lastly, my dog and I shared a 400 yard stalk through rough river rock and cocklebur. He didn't know know there was a goose, he just naturally trusted me that there was a reward at the end (part of the reason I put all 3 shells in the goose as I wanted to make sure he got his reward too).

 

I treated that stalk like it was a coues sitting in the middle of that river, and I've always told myself, if you can hunt coues deer, you can hunt anything!