This month we inaugurate a feature called “The Species Corner” with a contribution by Jennifer Patten.  

Snow Goose

The Snow Goose (Ganso blanco in Spanish) is a migratory bird from North America. A strong flier, this goose breeds in the arctic region, along the northern tips of Canada, Alaska, Siberia, and Greenland, then migrates south to winter in central California, the western Gulf Coast, and the middle Atlantic coast. Snow Geese also migrate, in fewer numbers, to the Pacific Northwest, the central states and the Southwest and central Mexico.  Here in the Chico area we're very fortunate to live on the Pacific Flyway where hundreds of thousands of waterfowl winter. The Snow Goose is aptly named and is one of the easiest of all geese to identify. The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and Gray Lodge Wildlife Area are excellent places to visit and experience the wintering Snow Geese. You can also drive down several rural roads outside of Chico and find them feeding in flooded rice fields. If you ever get a chance to visit one of the refuges at sunset, thousands of snow geese will lift off with a thunderous roar, flapping their wings and exchanging calls as they scout out new feeding grounds.

Geese find their mates during the winter season and generally forge lifelong bonds. Paired birds migrate together and by late February or early March, the birds embark on their northerly migration to the nesting grounds. Flying at heights between 750 and 3500 feet in long lines or V-shaped formations, they take about 10 weeks to reach the nesting sites. En route, the flock meets other flocks returning from other wintering sites.  The Snow Goose nest is a simple depression in the ground that is lined with grass and down (feathers). Females lay 2-6 creamy white eggs and incubate the eggs for 22-23 days. Both parents guard the nest. Once born, the goslings learn to walk and feed themselves within 24 hours. In little more than a month, they are ready to fly and migrate south.  By late August and early September, adult and immature geese migrate southwards towards coastal marshes and bays, wet grasslands, freshwater marshes, and cultivated fields to spend the winter. They eat a variety of plant species and parts, from aquatic plants to grasses and grain, foraging in waterlogged soil or shallow water. 

Quick Facts about Snow Geese: Weight:  6 lbs. (male) 5.5 lbs. (female); Sex Differences: Sexes look alike, male larger; Average speed:  50 miles per hour; Migration Distance:  3,000 miles; Wing Span: 35 inches; Voice: A high-pitched barking howk-howk; Color: Two color phases - in the “blue” phase, the head and upper neck are pure white, with grayish-brown body and in the “snow” phase they are all white with black wing tips; Diet: shoots and roots, grass, bulbs, insects, berries, grains, aquatic plants and invertebrates.