Lone snow goose visits Haines School
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Haines School students admired a Snow Goose that was separated from its flock last week.
Flocks of snow geese passing through Haines on their way north are a common spring sight along the shoreline of Chilkat Inlet.
But what was a single, young snow goose doing at the Haines School lawn last Tuesday morning, pecking around in the dirt near the Friendship Pole as children nearby loaded out of buses and cars?
Sixth-grader Gauge Christiansen, 12, saw the bird when he arrived at the school on his bike a few minutes after 8 a.m. "It was not afraid of having people around," said Christiansen, who theorized that the turkey-sized bird had been separated from his flock, perhaps by an eagle or other bird of prey looking for a meal. "That's just an assumption, though," he added.
Birder and high school science teacher Alex Tannehill said the goose's gray colorings and size suggest it was a juvenile. At first the goose appeared to be stumbling on an injured leg, but then it was seen walking without difficulty, she said.
Tannehill was about to take her zoology class outside for a look when the goose flew off around 8:30 a.m., apparently after a worker at the American Bald Eagle Foundation came for a closer look to see if it was injured.
"It was a little bit of a bummer," Tannehill said of her class's lost opportunity. "They said he flew away, so we're just going to say he rejoined his flock," she said, adding, "I'm just glad it wasn't a bear."
