ML393774851

Age and sex

Adult, Unknown sex - 1

Media notes

The "Mallards" behind the goose are the decoys of the hunters who killed this goose out of season.

Observation details

; 2 Emperor Geese on dredge-spoil islets, at least one killed by poachers After arriving at the SE corner of March Point, at the spot where one views the dredge-spoil islets, at 1435, I started scanning for water-birds. There were not many close by, but quite a few out on Padilla Bay. I soon spotted the two Emperor Geese swimming near one of the more southerly islets. They were plump, grey geese with white heads. The black coloration on the ventral side of the neck was most striking. I could just barely see a bit of pinkish color on the bills. The two geese swam around alone, along the W shoreline of the islet. I took a few photos, then texted a few friends, and wrote to Tweeters. However, there were three hunters in a blind just 100 m or so to the N of the two Emperor Geese, on the next islet. Soon, they started shooting. The geese took off. In flight, they appeared to be all grey, except for white heads and tails, and orangish feet. Then I lost sight of them. A moment later, a lone Brant lit on the water, apparently wounded, and swam southwards, out of the hunters' range. I lost sight of one of the Emperor Geese, but the other began swimming directly toward the hunters and their set of Mallard and Canada Goose decoys. As the bird swam, it was listing to the port side, so it must have been wounded. Then one of the hunters walked to their hunting-boat and began motoring toward the goose. I did not see him retrieve any birds out of the water, but I did see him carrying one Emperor Goose after he beached the boat back on the islet. Soon, a few of my birding friends arrived, but alas, they were too late. Skagit County is in WDFW Goose Management Area 1, and there is no goose hunting allowed right now, not until December 11th.

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS

ISO

125

Focal length

215 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.5

Shutter speed

1/160 sec

Dimensions

960 pixels x 1200 pixels

Original file size

305.53 KB