Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens)

Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens)

Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens)

Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens)

Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens)

These 2 snow geese were spotted on a beach at Lincoln Park in Seattle, Washington on the afternoon of June 5th, 2011. Snow geese mate for life, and usually they migrate in really large numbers. The snow goose typically breeds from May-August in the extreme north parts of North America. Seattle is on one of the snow goose's migratory paths, so it was not unusual to see these birds there, it was just unusual to see them there at this time of year. Perhaps they are stragglers from last winter's migration. Since there was no other geese in sight, I am assuming that this pair was not where they were supposed to be. There is another explanation that is possible. The female snow goose returns to where they were hatched to breed and nest. Maybe one of these geese is a female, and it is possible she was hatched in the Seattle area. This is more likely given that both of these birds are missing feathers on their wings, and migration is not conducive to this. Also, the female lines her nest with down, so perhaps she took these feathers for the nesting area (even though they aren't down feathers). Either way, it was a nice surprise to see these geese on the beach. You can read more about philopatry, the returning to the hatching area to nest, here, and more learn more about the snow goose here. You can also read more about feathers here. Thanks to Collin Moore for taking awesome pictures.