Skip to content

Good Birding: October brings the snow geese

The fall weather has been wonderful with two weeks of sunshine and gorgeous Sunshine Coast sunsets.
geese
Wintering snow geese (Chen caerulescens) on Fir Island, Washington.

The fall weather has been wonderful with two weeks of sunshine and gorgeous Sunshine Coast sunsets.

October usually brings the archetypal sight and sound of thousands of snow geese migrating overhead along our coastline, en route from their breeding grounds on Wrangel Island in Siberia to the Fraser Delta. A single flock was reported on Oct. 11, then nothing until the 22nd. Perhaps the wonderful weather has induced them to stay northward later than usual? 

Snow geese are abundant around the northern hemisphere and the birds we see are part of the Pacific Flyway flock. All of these birds breed on Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean north off the coast of Siberia. The flock disperses to two separate wintering locations, the Central Valley of California and the Fraser-Skagit area of B.C. and Washington.

The Fraser-Skagit flock numbered 85,000 to 88,000 birds in the January 2018 mid-winter count with about 15 per cent being young birds (recognized by their grey plumage rather than the black and white of the adults). In mid-November there are normally 20,000+ snow geese foraging on Westham Island in the Fraser estuary and they make an incredible sight when the whole flock is put to flight by an overflying eagle, truly a blizzard of snow geese. From late-December to February most of the birds are in the Skagit River area and they filter back to the Fraser in the springtime prior to making the long flight back to Wrangel Island. During April and early May we again see the flocks overhead on the Sunshine Coast. 

While present in the Fraser Delta and Skagit Estuary the birds feed on intertidal marsh plants, especially digging up the starchy rhizomes of bulrushes. They also forage the remnants of agricultural crops such as potatoes. In addition, farmers participate in a program called Greenfields (I recognize that name!) which subsidizes the planting of crops specifically for the goose flock. 

Watch and listen for the snow geese overhead in the next few days; they can be recognized by their white bodies with black wing tips. There may also be Canada geese and white-fronted geese flocks overhead. During the winter months there are frequently a few snow geese or white-fronts attached to the local resident Canada geese as they forage on local playing fields.

To report sightings or questions, contact tony@whiskeyjacknaturetours.com

Good birding.