Snow Geese, Tillamook, Oregon, 24 December 2011 by Greg Gillson.Snow Geese are abundant spring and fall migrants in the Pacific NW. Most birds stay along well-defined flight paths, though. They stage, or rest and feed, at selected locations, usually set aside as wildlife refuges
Growing numbers (several thousand) winter in the Sauvie Island/Ridgefield Refuge area a few miles west of Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. In fact, I live about 15 miles from Sauvie Island, but rarely see Snow Geese in my area.
They are even less common along the immediate coast, where I photographed this probable family group last December. The adults are white with black wing tips and pink bills. Birds-of-the-year are mottled dusky, as seen in the accompanying photos.
Snow Geese, Tillamook, Oregon, 24 December 2011 by Greg Gillson.