Above photo of Snow Geese (adults and young of both color morphs) with a couple of Ross’s Geese by Rudolf Koes
How do I recognize it?
The Snow Goose of Manitoba is also called Lesser Snow Goose (Greater Snow Goose is the same species, but occurs in the east of the continent). It comes in two colour morphs, white and blue. It is smaller than most Canada Geese, with a mostly white plumage in adult snows. Blue Snow Geese are mostly dark bluish-gray, with a white neck and head. Young birds confuse the issue, with snows being pale grey above and off-white on the underparts. Young blue geese on the other hand are uniformly dark grey. At all ages the birds have black wingtips.
Snow Geese photo – Whitewater Lake by Rudolf Koes
Does it migrate?
Snow Geese pass through southern Manitoba both in spring and fall. Especially in April and early May and again from September into November huge numbers occur, in recent decades more so in the west of the province than in the east. The occasional bird will spend the summer in the south or will linger into winter.
Snow Goose (adult blue morph) photo – Churchill by Rudolf Koes
Where does it live?
The species breeds in huge colonies in the Canadian Arctic and sub-Arctic. There is a large colony at La Pérouse Bay, east of Churchill. Flying over that colony shows the devastation caused by the birds uprooting all edible vegetation, creating a vast mudflat and forcing the colony to continually expand to more productive habitat. On migration it can be found in harvested fields, wetlands and grassy areas. On the wintering grounds in the southern United States and Mexico it prefers rice fields.
Snow Geese (with two Ross’s Geese in the foreground) – photo by Rudolf Koes
Where can I see it?
Here in southern Manitoba reliable places are Whitewater Lake, Oak Hammock Marsh, Delta Marsh, just to name a few. Just about anywhere in the agricultural south one has a chance during migration. In addition, numbers pass the hawk watch sites at Holo Crossing (Pembina River valley near Windygates) and at St. Adolphe in spring.
Conservation Status.
This is a species of Least Concern, as its numbers have exploded over the past decades. Although there is now hunting allowed in both spring and fall, that seems to hardly dent the population.
Did you know?
The very similar Ross’s Goose occurs here too, but in smaller numbers. It is barely larger than a Mallard and can be separated from Snow Goose, besides by size, by its shorter neck, stubby bill and lack of a so-called “grinning patch. If you see a single small white goose in a flock of Canadas, it is almost certainly a Ross’s.
Written by Rudolf Koes.