A tundra bean goose that appears to be far from its Arctic home is recovering at a local bird rescue after a BB pellet broke its wing.
The bird has been spotted around Southern California since the spring and was caught last week at Magic Johnson Park in Los Angeles, where it has been observed since late summer. Wildlife experts grew concerned when birders reported the goose appeared to limp and had a dangling wing.
Tundra bean geese typically breed in Northern Siberia and are often found wintering in northern Asia and with other grey geese in nature reserves in England. The species has been spotted in the lower 48 states fewer than a dozen times and in California once when it was observed at the Salton Sea in 2010.
The bird was first spotted at Piute Ponds in Apple Valley in March. Then in Apollo Park in Lancaster in May.
This goose’s rarity drew interest from many birders who flocked to see it; last year a snowy owl, also very rare to see in the region, drew huge crowds when it took up residence for several weeks in a Cypress neighborhood.
Federal and state wildlife officials asked the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center for help catching the injured goose. It has been recovering at the Huntington Beach facility since it was captured on Wednesday, Nov. 22, in Magic Johnson Park.
The BB pellet remains lodged in its wing; given the bird’s hollow bones and delicate structure, surgery to remove it may not be an option, said Debbie McGuire, the center’s director.
“We don’t know if it will ever be able to take up flight again because of the type of bird it is,” she said, adding that federal and state wildlife officials have pre-approved its transfer to a sanctuary in Louisiana if it’s determined the goose can no longer fly well enough to migrate. “If it goes there, it will be with others of its kind.”
For now, center staff are doing all they can to keep the bird pain-free and fed, she said.
“The goose is doing really well,” said…
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