By Sharon L. Moore
Lesser Snow Goose
Anser caerulescens
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
We vividly recall a freezing, clear mid-November day in the farmlands of Fir Island, west of Mt Vernon, when we had an amazing birding experience. Shivering as we mucked along the icy country road, binoculars in hand, we wondered about the geese we hoped to see. If they were here, how would we find them? Our sources had described large flocks of Lesser Snow Geese migrating south on the Pacific Flyway, stopping here in the Skagit Valley to rest and feed. But after a couple of hours searching on foot, seeing only scattered birds in the pastures we passed, the possibility of a sizeable flock seemed unlikely. Then, as we moved along a wide bend in the road, partially obscured by dense trees, we heard distant honking. Binoculars up instantly allowed us both to spot a faint line far out on the horizon. “Oh, wow,” my partner said, “this could be them.” The flock, growing larger as it moved toward us, was densely white, intermixed with an occasional dark splash of color. As they came closer we could see their black wingtips as they began to land in the hundreds, possibly thousands out in the fallow fields – a massive, noisy snowstorm. We had never seen so many birds. And our astonishment deepened as their numbers grew.
The hours until dusk we spent with these lovely geese slipped away easily as we discussed what we were seeing and learning about them and their migration. We noticed that a few Trumpeter Swans were landing with the geese, quite compatibly. From our previous reading we had learned most of the Snow Geese wintering near the Salish Sea and Skagit Valley actually live much of the year nesting and raising their young on Wrangel Island in the Aleutians, located in the Arctic Sea. This cohort is termed the Lesser Snow Goose with a substantive population on that island in 2020 of 685,100 birds. Roughly the size of the Greek island of Crete, Wrangel is a federally protected nature sanctuary overseen by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. It has also been designated an Important Bird Area by Bird Life International. This region of the Arctic harbors a polar climate that is severe – with winter temperatures often falling to -60 degrees Centigrade. To avoid these conditions, in late fall a great flock of this western regional population of Lesser Snow Geese leave Wrangel and fly 3,100 miles to our milder climate. Approximately half of this huge flock will remain in British Columbia and northwest Washington while the other half continues on the Pacific Flyway to southern Oregon and California to overwinter.
Once these birds landed in our midst we observed that they are a gregarious species, walking and “talking” to each other as they forage. When not feeding, they nap while sitting or they rest alternatively on one foot at a time. As voracious vegetarians they graze nearly continuously when awake, consuming all parts of the plant – from roots to seeds to leaves, stems and tubers. They also eat berries in their winter habitat with the smaller goslings also searching for berries and other fruits as well as horsetail shoots, and fly larvae. Since birds have no teeth, the voluminous amounts of vegetable matter the Lesser Snow Geese eat is crushed with help from the small rocks they swallow, creating a grinding surface that helps pulverize the food fiber in their gizzards.
Physically sturdy, Snow Geese are strong long distance flyers with even wing beats. During their migratory flights they may actually form flocks of hundreds of thousands of birds and fly as high as 21 to 23 thousand feet. They may also walk on the ground for extended distances, up to fifty miles or more if necessary for grazing. When threatened by predators they can even swim and dive for short distances. They may also be long-lived. The oldest Snow Goose on record, a male Blue Morph, carried a leg band verifying his age at 30 years, 8 months old when he was shot in Idaho in 2020.
A medium-sized goose with a long, thick neck, the Snow Goose has a body length of 27.2 to 32.7 inches and its wingspan is 54.3 inches. Males and females weigh from 56.4 to 116.4 grams with the juveniles slightly smaller in size during their first fall and winter. There are two morphs in the Snow Goose population. The adult White Morph has all-white plumage with black wingtips barely visible at rest but apparent in flight. Its bill is pink with a curved base and a prominent, black “grinning patch” on each side of the bill. The legs are also pink. The adult Blue Morph is the same shape and size as the White Morph with a dark brown to black body, white head and white feathers in the tail. If two distinct morphs should mate, their offspring may carry the color combination of either parent.
Lesser Snow Geese mate at three years old before they fly to their spring Arctic breeding grounds. The mated pair explores the nesting terrain carefully, with the female preferring a specific site; it must be along a pond or even an island in the pond or along a stream, possibly on or near still-melting snow. Add to that a slightly rocky promontory for good visibility, sheltered among willows, small shrubs and grasses and you’ll have a perfect nest spot for the female. With luck, it will help safeguard her and her hatchlings from predators.
With the male protecting her, the female begins scraping the chosen nest spot, intent upon creating a slight depression 3 to 6.5 feet in diameter. She may actually lay her first egg as she’s still constructing the nest. Once she’s finished, she’ll lay up to six eggs. Then she adds material to the nest interior such as eelgrass, leaves, willow twigs and seaweed. She also adds fluffy down feathers from her own breast. Since she has laid her eggs at various times, they will not hatch all at once. During her incubation period of 22 to 25 days, she spends 21 or more hours a day on the nest. Once the hatchlings emerge their eyes are open and they are fully covered in down. After the final hatchling appears, the family group travels quickly away from the nest on foot to feed and avoid predators. The young geese fledge at 42 to 50 days, finally able to fly.
As we look to the future of the Lesser Snow Goose and all goose species, the long term projections for their survival are not encouraging. With global warming occurring now, these birds’ breeding habitats in the Arctic and sub-Arctic are beginning to be environmentally damaged. If the temperature continues to rise, the loss of rich breeding grounds is predicted to be severe. According to the Audubon climate model, with a 1.5 degree Centigrade increase in the global temperature, the Lesser Snow Goose species will lose 53% of its breeding habitat. The planet is currently close to reaching that limit. Even worse, should the global temperature increase by 2 degrees Centigrade, the Snow Geese and other Arctic breeders will lose 73% of their Arctic range.
A more immediate threat to Lesser Snow Goose survival is myriad predators that fiercely hunt the eggs, hatchlings and adults. Hordes of hungry birds and mammals attack these vulnerable ground nesters – from Common Ravens, red foxes, Long-tailed Jaegers, Glaucous Gulls, Herring Gulls, Parasitic Jaegers, caribous, polar and black bears, gray wolves and Snowy Owls. Bears, foxes, wolves and Bald and Golden eagles also consistently hunt adult Geese throughout the year. Reading this exhaustive list, we may wonder how any Snow Geese survive. And yet, their populations have been considered highly successful in recent decades in both Canada and the U.S., so successful that both countries began allowing increased hunting to reduce the population. In the two countries combined, from 2019 to 2021, between 450,000 to 550,00 Snow Geese were hunted annually.
This winter, do watch for the small flocks of Snow Geese, possibly mixed with Trumpeter Swans, which frequent our region. Try the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, the six-mile Elma/Brady Loop, southwest of Highway 8, or possibly the ponds along the Chehalis entrance to the Willapa Hills State Park Trail. If you’re interested in stunning numbers, drive north to the Samish Island Conservation area where on November 7, 2022, of this year, 8,000 Lesser Snow Geese were overwintering. Or try the Skagit Valley at the Jensen Access where 10,000 Snow Geese were feeding on November 11, 2022.
Enjoy the birds during these winter holidays.
Sharon L. Moore
Photo credit: Snow geese and goslings, by Gruendercoach, https://pixabay.com/photos/snow-geese-geese-goslings-birds-6690331/
