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Friday, February 24, 2012

Snow Goose

Snow GooseSnow 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 GooseSnow Geese, Tillamook, Oregon, 24 December 2011 by Greg Gillson.