On 6 Jan 2001 Chuck Vaughn, Matthew Matthiessen, and I saw a group
of 12 Aleutian Canada Geese on the Garcia River bottoms near Point Arena
along with larger Canada Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese, Ross's Geese,
and Tundra Swans. One of the Aleutians was wearing a neck collar, #941,
white on blue. Just this week I have heard back that it was banded 5 miles
northeast of Vernalis, Stanislaus County, CA on 10 Dec 1999. When trapped,
it was identified as an after hatching year male (AHY M), which means that
it was hatched in 1998 or earlier, making it at least 3 1/2 years old at
our sighting. Although my awareness of Aleutian Canada Geese has increased
in the last ten years, it is also my impression that they became more
frequent in Mendocino county in the 90's in parallel with their recovery.
Thanks to Dr. Paul Springer for tracking down this information. I'm
still waiting to hear from other sources about a radio-collared "Tule"
Greater White-fronted Goose which appeared on a vineyard pond in Potter
Valley in Oct 2000. -- George Chaniot