Ross's Geese Elsewhere

Georgia Birding and Nature

Ross's Geese Elsewhere

I found this Ross's Goose at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on 11/15/08.

Eric Beohm

Above shows the parking area there at the racetrack. The Ross's is the small white bird towards the back mixed in with the many Canada Geese.

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On 12/13/03, I found a Ross's Goose in Henry County, GA, while running errands. The bird was about fifty yards off Jonesboro Road and was with a Snow Goose and some Canada Geese. Fortunately, all field marks checked out for Ross's: no "grinning patch" on stubby triangular bill, straight base/border on bill, bluish base of bill, round head, short and thick neck, black primaries, no rusty stains on head, cute and gentle expression, and apparent small size (with Snow and Canadas for comparison). Not to mention, "beautiful"!

Here he is doing his best Mute Swan imitation.

Looks like he found a buddy he can look up to.

If there was a contest for "cute", he would win first place.

Eric Beohm

Griffin, GA

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Here is a Ross's Goose that I found in Stewart County on 11/17/06.

Note the extreme small size against the Ring-billed Gulls.

Note the round head, small triangular bill with no grinning patch.

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Here are some more Ross's Geese that I have found in Georgia. The photos are bad, but I think they give a realistic picture of what birders contend with sometimes. Few birds cooperate with the photographer, and heat waves can cause significant distortion to photos over long distances.

I found this one in Dec 2003 at Lake Horton. It was relocated by many observers.

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I found this Ross's Goose (with gulls) at Lake Juliette in 2003. Note size and black wingtips.

I will try to add the photo of the one I found at the Bradley Unit in 2003 when I find it. I should have some good video of it.

There are at least a couple more that we have found but do not have photos of.

Eric Beohm

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Below are six Ross's Geese that we found at Clark's Hill Reservoir. We could see the birds well through the scope, but the photos didn't turn out well. For example we could see the eyes and details of the bill through the scope which are hard to see in most of the photos. However, I took over 50 photos and all field marks are addressed when looking at all the photos. Of course, I'm not going to put all the photos on this site. The basic field marks can be seen in these photos.

Six Ross's Geese at CHR on 11/27/2010.

Note the structure. The round head. Absence of a pronounced bill. Short-thick neck, etc.

The birds have clean white feathers, etc for the juvenile on the right.

Not one of the best photos but note the dark wingtips.

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Here is a ROSS'S GOOSE that I found at Lake Walter F. George on 11/13/06.

I could see the bird quite well through my spotting scope. Taking a clear photo, though, was a different matter. For instance, I could see the black wingtips quite easily, however, this is hardly discernable, in the photos. I didn't have my regular camera, so I attempted some shots with an inferior substitute. As bad as the photos are you can still make out the fieldmarks. The bird was actually about the same size as the ducks though noticeably larger than the nearby coots. The camera seemed to make the goose appear larger than it actually was. I think this is because it was getting dark at the time, and the Ross's Goose appeared very white. The Ross's was turned so that I could see it's profile. The ducks and coots are mainly turned facing towards are away from the camera making them look smaller. When the Ross's was turned away, I would lose it behind a duck. - EB

Classic shape. Round head.

It appears that you can see some of the black in the wingtips.

This photos shows that the ducks that are sideways do appear close in size.

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Nov 13, 2013, Lake Hartwell. I found a ROSS'S GOOSE. Diagnostic video was taken of the bird. These photos are pretty good at showing the distinctive body shape, proportions, clean whiteness, and black wingtips.

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Ross's Goose at Lake Hartwell 02/04/2015

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I found a ROSS'S GOOSE at Lake Hartwell, GA (and SC) on 11/21/2014. Could see the bird fairly well at times especially when it would fly, making wide circles around the lake. Very small goose, appearing a little larger than Ring-billed Gull. Could see the stubby triangular bill at times. Short neck, round head, black wing tips. I found some Snow Geese in the area also.

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Ross's Goose - Extreme lake haze that day. Fortunately, got a flight pic/vid.