It’s in your nature: The ‘snows’ are back

A few weeks ago, while sitting in a cold Carbon County woodland, I heard a flock of snow geese heading south.

I certainly could never have known where the flock’s final destination was, but I do know there are thousands and thousands of snow geese currently calling the Lehigh Valley home.

I will apologize in not being accurate with the snow goose population, but I believe I have seen at least 8,000-10,000 or more “snows” in one field alone.

From Jan. 9 through Jan. 12 that huge flock was feeding in the Orefield area of Lehigh County in the vicinity of the Jaindl turkey farm. This flock, or a combination of flocks, has also been finding refuge for the evening in a large quarry pond in Ironton.

Unlike some Canada geese, snow geese do not remain in or breed in our region.

Snow geese now feeding in the Lehigh Valley, will in early March begin a journey taking them to the shores of Hudson Bay, the deep Arctic, or maybe even the coastal areas of Greenland.

They nest along small ponds, coastal wetlands or marshy areas. After hatching, the young in two or three days will begin a 20 or more mile trek to better grassy/mossy areas to feed. The adults at this point can’t fly either due to their molting flight feathers. Snow geese are noted for their “running speed” and can often outrun predators.

Adult snow geese are almost all white, with black wing tips. However, some snow geese are called “blue geese” because they are a dark “morph” or form of the same bird. These “blue geese” have a mostly dark brown body and a mostly all white head and neck. About one out of 100 geese that hatch is this dark form. Juvenile birds are a dirtier buff color.

Snow geese are about 8 inches smaller than Canada geese and have a shorter neck. They feed voraciously on waste grains in harvested corn or soybean fields. They can even be seen feeding in fields that have been plowed under. Fortunately for our local farmers, snow geese don’t arrive in our region until after almost all grains have been harvested. However, if they feed in winter wheat/barley fields they can be quite destructive, eating the plant down to the soil level and usually killing the plant.

Snow geese are another example of good wildlife conservation practice. Snow geese were hunted so extensively that in 1916 snow goose hunting in the eastern United States was banned and not restarted again until 1975.

Populations today are actually reaching numbers as such that they may be “eating themselves out of their homes” in the Arctic.

I seldom see the fall migration of the “snows,” however spring has offered me many more sightings. I follow a weekly weather forecast in early/mid-March and on a day with projected strong southwest winds I find a vantage point with a mile or two visibility and if lucky, I may see tens of thousands of these beautiful birds flying north just beginning their first leg on a long flight back to the Arctic.

Test your outdoor knowledge: Shadbush and Juneberry are both local names for ______. A. sassafras, B. catalpa, C. serviceberry, D. magnolia E. American dogwood.

Last week’s trivia answer: Eastern red cedars are native to Pennsylvania however not as many are found locally as in Southeastern PA. (Bucks County for example) and southern New Jersey.

Contact Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com.