The Lesser Snow Goose Story

The Lesser Snow Geese visiting the Sanctuary are part of the Wrangel Island (Pacific) nesting population. Wrangel Island lies in the Arctic Ocean, north of Siberia, and belongs to Russia. A "population" is the number of animals of the same type living in an area. Birds nesting on Wrangel Island split into two separate wintering sub-populations. One winters in California, and one winters locally. Lesser Snow Goose Facts: Weight: 2.5 to 2.7 kg Wingspan: 38- 46 cm  Lifespan: 10 to 20 years in the wild. Distinguishing marks: White bodies, black wing-tips, a pink bill with black markings and pink feet. Best times to view them at the Sanctuary: mid-Oct. to mid-Dec. and mid-March to mid-April. January 2008 Mid-winter estimate (Fraser River and Skagit River flocks)= 100,000 birds.

Lesser Snow Geese generally mate for life, and raise an average of three or four young each year. The young migrate with their parents. During the summer, adult geese and the new young birds are all flightless. Scientists from Canada, the United States and Russia all work together to capture some of these birds during this flightless period to mark them so that their migratory paths can be better understood.

These birds fly 4,000 km between Wrangel Island and the Sanctuary. Their migration stops between nesting and wintering grounds include the Russian mainland, St.Lawrence Island (Bering Sea), the Yukon-Kuskokwin delta (western Alaska), Cooke Inlet (southern Alaska), and the mouth of the Stikine River in northern BC. Some marked individuals have made non-stop flights between Alaska and the Sanctuary (2500 km) in less than 36 hours.

Our Snow Geese start arriving at the Sanctuary in early October and are often referred to as the "Fraser-Skagit” flock or subpopulation, as they move back and forth between the estuaries of the Fraser and Skagit Rivers. The Sanctuary is in the center of the Fraser River estuary. The Skagit River estuary is just south of the Canada/United States border in the State of Washington, and it provides the birds with similar habitats to what they find in the Fraser River estuary- flat farmland next to extensive intertidal marshes. Each area traditionally supports approximately 50% of the flock in the fall, but nearly all of the flock concentrates in the Skagit estuary from late December to February. Birds return to the Fraser estuary in spring, and depart in April for their northward migration to Wrangel Island. Nesting pairs are on their nests and incubating eggs most of June, and the resulting young are ready to fly by late August.

During their stay here, favourite natural foods for these birds are the intertidal marsh plants of the estuary. Marsh plants such as bulrush (Scirpus americanus) store starch reserves in their roots and rhizomes. The geese dig up these food sources using their strong bills. The soils in the Delta area are rich in iron compounds, and stain the head feathers of the geese orange when they have been digging in the marsh. In the spring, the green growth of pastures and marsh plants such as sedge (Carex lyngbeyi) are popular foods.

Agricultural crops are also eaten, although most are harvested by farmers before the snow geese arrive. Leftover potatoes often remain in the fields, and the geese dig these up. Local farmers all participate in a program called “Greenfields” which coordinates the fall planting of green growing grass cover for these geese, other wildlife and soil enrichment through the Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust.

The snow geese provide spectacular wildlife viewing for our visitors. They form very large dense flocks of up to 20,000 birds which feed, rest and fly over the Sanctuary, neighbouring farmland and nearby Fraser marshes every day. They are restless and constantly moving when Bald Eagles, people and dogs are nearby. Within the flocks, visitors can often identify family groups. The young born that year are fully grown before they migrate to this area, but their first set of adult feathers is grey, not white. Small groups containing two white birds and several darker birds are likely family groups. The snow geese regularly sleep on the water in large dense flocks, sometimes out in the marshes of the estuary, and sometimes in the quiet river channels around the Sanctuary.

Visitors can be of assistance to the ongoing international research projects by reporting any marked birds, as over 2,000 birds have been individually marked with coloured neck collars or tracked after the installation of radio-transmittors as part of migration and population studies.

For more information within this site:
Snow goose research and farm programs supported by BCWS
Comprehensive teacher package on migration and specifically snow geese

For an annual population update and more complete information on the status of this species, which is considered an indicator species for the health of ecosystems in the Strait of Georgia: http://www.ecoinfo.ec.gc.ca/env_ind/region/snowgeese/snowgeese_e.cfm

For a comprehensive review of snow geese across North America: Hinterland Who's Who