snow geese

"Blue goose" is a pretty rare dark morph of the Snow Goose. Still the same species. Nearly 30 thousand Snow Geese, mostly from Wrangell Island in Russia, spend the winter in the Skagit Valley in Washington state and in British Columbia. They spend the night in the Puget Sound, and feed...

Nearly 30 thousand Snow Geese, mostly from Wrangell Island in Russia, spend the winter in the Skagit Valley in Washington state and in British Columbia. They spend the night in the Puget Sound, and feed in the fields during the day.

This is a shot from 2012. In contrast to the small numbers of Snow Geese seen passing thru our area the last couple of years we used to get large groups in the thousands that would pass thru during both spring and fall migration. They would typically hang out on the rivers for several days or a...

I do still have more goose and crane shots. I'll try to intersperse them between other species. I'm pretty sure these are Snow Geese, judging by their size. The Ross's are smaller. The view is to the east across the Bosque and the Rio Grande. 'Fraid I don't know the name of those mountains...

in the naturalist rather than the quilting pattern sense. I'm sorry I don't know the name of the mountain range in the background. It's the ones just east of the Bosque. Also sorry I'm running late tonight and haven't browsed. I've been busy booking hotels for my summer holiday trip. Husband...

While awaiting the arrival of this years snow geese migrating thru our area on their way to their winter homes to the south of us, I thought I would post this shot from a couple of years ago when the geese migrating thru numbered in the thousands.

Snow Geese on the tulip and daffodil fields in Skagit Valley, near Mount Vernon, Washington. March 22, 2015. Almost 30 thousand snow geese, mostly from Wrangell Island in Russia, winter in this valley and neighboring British Columbia, Canada.

Snow Geese on the tulip and daffodil fields in Skagit Valley, near Mount Vernon, Washington. March 22, 2015. Almost 30 thousand snow geese, mostly from Wrangell Island in Russia, winter in this valley and neighboring British Columbia, Canada.

Snow Geese on the tulip and daffodil fields in Skagit Valley, near Mount Vernon, Washington. March 22, 2015. Almost 30 thousand snow geese, mostly from Wrangell Island in Russia, winter in this valley and neighboring British Columbia, Canada.

Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes at Bosque del Apache, New Mexico USA. November 30, 2013 Camera: Olympus OM-D

Snow Geese (Lesser) (Chen caerulescens subsp. caerulescens) LIkely with a few Rosss Geese (Chen rossii) mixed in. Photographed in Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, southern Socorro County, New Mexico, USA. Straddling the Rio Grande Valley with a lot of planted corn crops with...

A wall of snow geese taken at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge during migration.

These guys don't usually fly so low over this area, let alone hang around as these have done for several days in this neighborhood.

This photo was taken on the north end of Cayuga Lake on the 9th of March 2013. There were approximately 123,000 snow geese on the lake that day--migrating north. It was an amazing sight!

and here is a little slide show of their action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBNX172MjII

Another shot from wonderful Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. I think this Sandhill Crane must have gotten a late start for the feeding fields since all its crane cousins were already gone. He seemed very lonely among all these rising and landing Snow Geese.

Technically, this image is not of the quality I usually want in my keepers. However, given the circumstances, I did keep it. It was a bitterly cold morning, just after sunrise when I noticed these geese approaching and thought they would pass in close proximity to the moon. I had only about...

Our winter migratory birds are pretty much gone now but for months the Skagit Valley has been home to tens of thousands of these beautiful birds.

Poetry In Motion is a captivating look of birds in flight. Slow shutter speeds make for an interesting view of birding. Snow Geese

Snow geese making a landing in a blur of birds and feathers. Slow shutter snap for a more artistic look.

Flight of the Snow Geese is a slow shutter artistic view of these beautiful birds in motion. Step back and see the beauty that nature provides us.

Although this shot doesn't show the geese in much detail, I like the way they fill the sky and the sky colors.

They would all take off and fly at the same time and just fill the sky with white. It was quite a site to see.

Hi folks, sorry that I have not been around for a while but am feeling much better now and have been getting out in the field more to get some shots and expect to be a regular contributor again.. I came across these snow geese last week. There were about 1000 of them on the river along with...