Thousands of snow geese, goslings in tow, spent the night in Garden Valley on their migration path

 In the 10 years that I have lived in Garden Valley I have never had the opportunity to see this many Snow Geese land overnight in Garden Valley, Idaho. 

Thousands of the birds landed in the fields near the Garden Valley School, turning the pastures brilliant white. 

 Here is a picture of the thousand that were on the ground and the following pictures shows the Snow Geese as they came wave after wave and landed. These Snow Geese were resting during migration, stopping only to feed on plants, rest, and resume flight the following day.

 Snow Geese winter in the Pacific Northwest, down through California, across the Southwest, Texas and lower mid-west, the eastern Great Lakes and eastern seaboard.  They avoid the warm southern states.  The Snow Geese will often migrate back to the same properties every year. 

  

When spring arrives, we may see these snow geese again as they return north to their breeding grounds  on the tundra of the Arctic Circle.            

By June, the adult pairs (which mate for life), will produce two to six eggs each year in a shallow ground nest. Their chicks are self-sufficient within hours, swimming and eating on their own.  They  stay with their parents for the first year or two, enjoying parental protection from Arctic Foxes, Bald Eagles, and Skua.         

The huge, honking flocks may appear as a "U" formation or simply as a large "snowstorm" of white birds. Along the way, they rest in wet grasslands, and fields. Their diet is entirely vegetarian, consisting of grasses and grains, grazed from damp soils or even shallow water.

 Adult snow geese are 27 to 33 inches long, with a wingspan of 4.5 feet.  They weigh 3.5 to 7.3 lbs

 

I hope you enjoyed the rare treat of seeing thousands of these beautiful creatures briefly sharing my valley with me. -Dawn

 Garden Valley Real Estate

WWW.GardenValleyRealEstate.info

 dawn@gardenvalleyrealestate.info

 (208) 861-0734