Snow Geese at Dawn

Snow Geese

Snow geese breed up in the arctic and subarctic tundra of Canada and Alaska. They usually nest close to a pond, lake or near the coast. They look for nesting areas that lose their snow early so that they can avoid some of the flooding that comes from the spring thaw. They winter primarily in coastal areas of the US and Mexico, although there is a large population that migrates to the south central US to places such as the Bosque del Apache where this photo was taken. They often stop to feed at farm fields during migration.

Snow Geese

Snow geese are one of the most abundant waterfowl in North America. They breed up in the arctic and subarctic regions of Canada, Alaska, Siberia and Greenland. They nest on the tundra typically near ponds or other shallow wetlands. The nest is a scrape that is usually protected by vegetation and rocks. The female will add her own down feathers to the nest. She may also add other vegetation as she continues to lay eggs. The clutch size is typically 2- 6 eggs. When the eggs hatch the chicks already have their eyes open and they are protected by a layer of down feathers. 

 After the chicks hatch the families move to areas where their is more food. They eat grasses, shrubs, and other vegetation. They eat all parts of the plant including stems, leaves, roots and seeds. In the fall they gather together and migrate south for the winter. While migrating down the four major migration flyways flocks of snow geese will stopover at staging grounds to feed. While feeding they typically have a look out that will call out if a predator, or crazy photographer, approaches. This will usually cause the flock to take off. They winter in the southern portions of the United States. These photos where taken at the Bosque del Apache in New Mexico where typically 20,000 or more snow geese spend the winter.

Wild Geese in Flight by Omega Means Starr

The whole worlds rushes out of doors
When wild geese fly,
Honking their exultations of free spirits,
Worshipping the boundless expanse of sky,
And the resplendent earth below.
Dwellers of earth, following seasons,
Far voyagers: lords of immeasurable space,
Masters of slow moving waters.
What seductive dreams impel their lighting,
arrowhead flight
Into the blue, absorbing sky?
Where do they go; what galaxies do they visit;
What paradises in worlds we do not know?
Free wanderers, bound by neither earth, water or air;
They are the essence of the human soul;
Conveyers of dreams, longings, hopes and aspirations,
Liberated by the spirit, limited only by the mind.
See, when next the wild birds fly
Trumpeting their exultations to a watching world,
If your soul is not soaring with the wings!

Snow Geese at Dawn

The Bosque del Apache is the wintering home of approximately 30,000 plus snow geese. Snow geese breed up in the arctic tundra of Alaska and Canada. Most snow geese migrate to coastal wetlands along the Atlantic, Pacific or Gulf Coasts however habitat like that which is found at the Bosque also attracts pockets of the snow goose population. Like the sand hill cranes, that also winter at the Bosque in large numbers, the snow geese spend their days out feeding in the fields and the nights on the relative safety of the shallow pools and wetlands. Watching the spectacle of the geese and cranes fly out in the dawn light or fly in at dusk attracts people from all over the world.