Of the two "Bean" Goose species, Taiga Bean Goose is the more accidental visitor to the USA, including in Alaska. According to the ABA Checklist (7th edition 2008), there are but two definite Alaska records, from St. Paul Island (Pribilofs) 19 April 1946, and from Shemya Island (Aleutians, one of the last 3 of the islands near Attu and Agattu) September 2007- February 2008. Many other Alaska reports of Bean Goose cannot be assigned to species. In the continental USA, the records are as follows: along the Iowa/Nebraska border 29 December 1984 - 7 January 1985; at Cap-Tourmente, Quebec 14-15 October 1987; in Phelps County, Nebraska 4 April 1998; and at Hoquiam, Washington 7-17 December 2002.
An incredible report, and special thanks to Bill Unzen for his report and photo. Any updates on the bird will no doubt be appreciated by all. Drew Smith Eagan, Dakota County ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
