Tag Archives: snow geese

Trumpeter Swans But Virtually No Snow Geese

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The main purpose for our trip to Skagit with mum was to try and find the snow geese. Our previous visit had been thwarted so we were skeptical as to whether we would have any luck this time. Instead of fields of geese, we saw a very large number of swans. They were all over some of the fields, so they were our new target. However, the geese hadn’t totally failed us. In amongst the swans, a small group of geese swooped down to land in the same field. I have no idea why they were alone and not with thousands of their brethren.

The swans did make for a good level of compensation. There were a few that occasionally took off or landed but never in a particularly convenient spot for me photos. However, watching them as they munched through the contents of the fields was a good alternative. It has got me excited about trying to get some more swan shots back in the UK – this time with the mute swans.

Snow Geese Taking Over

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The snow geese are a famous feature of Skagit County in the winter.  They migrate through the   area and feed well on the local fields.  I wasn’t looking to get shots of the geese while I was up there but the view across the fields was dominated by them.  I figured a little video was more appropriate to show just how many of them were there.  They were a bit distant but that might actually be the better way to show just how constant their movement was.

Snow Geese

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We took a day trip up to Fir Island. It is about an hour north of us and a popular place for bird watchers. While we are not particularly knowledgeable about such things, we did know that Snow Geese and Trumpeter Swans were supposed to appear in some numbers so we decided to see what we could come across while we were up there. It was a lovely day to be out with a clear blue sky and the warmth that an autumnal sun can still bring. We happened to bump in to a couple of friends of mine and they knew the area well so were able to give us some advice on where to go.

It didn’t take too long to find some Snow Geese. These are apparently a big draw in the area for bird watchers and later in the season the place can be heaving with them. We didn’t see a lot of people so it must have been early. There has been a program to encourage land owners to grow crops that support the birds when they migrate through and it seems to have worked. We saw a bunch of geese across the fields and then, as we drove north, a bunch more were in the fields along the road. More of them seemed to be flying in all the time. Obviously whatever they like to eat is there to be had!