Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Ross's Goose (Chen rossii)

Abundance: Very Uncommon (16 records in 10 counties, 3 in Kentucky and 7 in Tennessee).

Status: Winter Resident but most records involve birds present less than a week; photographs (see links below).

Regional High Count: 4 (4 December 2008; Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky; David L. Roemer).

Information on Records: 

26 November 1998-3 January 1999 (1 immature) Boring Pond and City Lake Natural Area, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Barbara H. Stedman et al.; Fekel 1999a; Welsh 1999a; Stedman 1999b), CBC record [count week].

17/20 April 2002 (1 adult/1 adult) Stites farm, Liberty Church Rd., Putnam County, Tennessee (John and Evelyne Stites, Stephen J. Stedman photo/Daniel L. Combs; Casteel 2002c).

30 November 2003 (1 adult) Southeastern Tennessee State Correctional Facility, Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Winston A. Walden; Knight 2004a).

12-24 January 2004 (1-2) Swafford Pond, Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Kevin Calhoon, m. ob.; Knight 2004b), possibly a continuation of the preceding record.

27 January 2004 (3) Student's Home Rd., DeKalb County, Tennessee (Judy C. Fuson, Carol D. Williams photo; Casteel 2004b), photo (27 January 2004, Carol D. Williams).

22 February 2004 (1) Intersection Rts. 87 and 921, Barren County, Kentucky (Stephen J. Stedman, Winston A. Walden; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2004b).

13-14 January 2005 (1) Rt. 83, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Carol D. Williams photo, Judy C. Fuson photo and unpubl. data), photo.

4-11 December 2005 (1 juvenile) Twin Lakes, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2006b), photo.

19 December 2006 (1 adult) Conley Bottom, Wayne County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo and unpubl. data).

22 January 2007 (2--age not known) Allen's Ferry Rd., DeKalb County, Tennessee (Carol D. Williams, Judy C. Fuson photos [of limited clarity], Michael J. Hawkins unpubl. data).

4 & 7 March 2008 (1) Cooley's Pond, Wayne County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo and unpubl. data).

25-28 March 2008 (1) West Ridge Rd. near Eubank, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton unpubl. data).

5 April 2008 (1) Jaybird Rd., Overton County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman photo and unpubl. data).

4 December 2008 (4) Mason's Island, Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo and unpubl. data).

7 February 2009 (3--adults) Stone's Rd., Morgan County, Tennessee, and Catfish Farm Rd., Fentress County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Edmund K. LeGrand photo and unpubl. data).

17 March 2009 (1) River Hill Rd., White County, Tennessee (Douglas A. Downs photo and unpubl. data).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Fall: 26 November 1998 (1 immature; Putnam County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman, Barbara H. Stedman et al.; Fekel 1999a).

    Late Spring: 20 April 2002 (1 adult; Putnam County, Tennessee; Daniel L. Combs; Casteel 2002c).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Not registered on any of 125 checklists during the 2003 YardWatch, but, surprisingly, this rare goose was registered once during the 2004 YardWatch; this lone registration among 206 checklists submitted during 2004 is indicative of the species' Regional rarity, as well as its unlikelihood of occurrence in yards and neighborhoods around the Region.

Habitat: Open rural and agricultural areas with small- to medium-sized ponds.

Remarks: Often associates with Canada Geese, as was the case for at least five of the sightings noted above, and sometimes with Snow Geese, true for at least one record above.

    The April 2002 Putnam County, Tennessee, record took place very close to the Jackson County, Tennessee, line, suggesting that the goose was probably present in that county as well.

Counties with Observations (boldfaced):

To see a map (Figure 1) displaying the data in the table above, click on the boldfaced word in this sentence.

Literature Cited