Rare goose causes traffic jam in Greenwich

“The town and village of Greenwich had a week-long event that just ended, and the event was the presence in the Battenkill along the village line of a Eurasian goose that has never been seen in New York State, and some say has never been seen in the Northeastern United States,” Greenwich Supervisor Jim Nolan said at Friday’s Washington County Board of Supervisors meeting.

“It drew people from many surrounding states. We actually had a traffic jam on Main Street in the village of Greenwich not seen since the end of the last tractor parade. This goose was of such interest to birders that they caused the traffic jam.

“Someone went down and counted the number of cars parked there and the number of people with cameras, and they said they counted cars with license plates in eight different states and 12 people with cameras and tripods at the time they were there,” he noted.

“So it was a big event for Greenwich. And many of those people who came, by the way, did frequent the businesses.”

He lamented, “Unfortunately the goose has flown the coop,” but consoled the other supervisors at the table. “Hopefully the goose will fly to one of our other towns in Washington County, and you too can have a great event for a week or so.”

Wildlife photographer Brisbane Young told The Chronicle that the visiting bird is called a Taiga Bean Goose. The bird is believed to have come from Scandinavia, he said.

“The Taiga Bean Goose is an extremely rare goose that traveled from Europe some 3,552 miles away,” Mr. Young said. “It is a first for New York State. That’s why birders and photographers alike are coming from all over the country to just get a glimpse of it.”

He said the goose has been seen “in a number of locations throughout Washington County at Fort Miller and along the Battenkill in Greenwich.”

Mr. Young said he took a picture of the Taiga Bean Goose feeding with Canadian Geese in a cornfield on Wilbur Avenue after a birder alerted him to where it was. — Ben Westcott

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