We had a surprise snow goose visitor here a couple of days ago. She was palling around with a pair of Canada geese:
According to whatbird.com, a group of geese has many collective nouns, including a “blizzard”, “chevron”, “knot”, “plump”, and “string” of geese. We often see large blizzards of snow geese here over the winter, but they’ve been gone for several weeks now.
It was when I saw the two together that I realized the significant size difference between the species:
Wherever the pair of Canada geese would go, the little snow goose would follow:
Snow geese migrate north for the summer and breed in the Arctic regions of North America and eastern Siberia. I can’t help but wonder how our little surprise visitor was left behind.
No matter now. I’m sure her friendly Canadian cousins will take care of her until she’s reunited with her snow goose family.
3/1/13 update: Our surprise visitor wasn’t a snow goose, but rather a Ross’s Goose. http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/293/_/Rosss_Goose.aspx. Thank you, Patrick C!
Morning Bray Farm 
March 28, 2012 at 5:23 am
Wow. I thought snow geese were as big as Canada geese!
But I’ve never seen one . . . except in that movie, years ago.
Sad movie….
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March 28, 2012 at 6:31 am
Yes, what a great surprise to have a visit of beautiful snow goose at Morning Bray Farm! Looks that snow goose and Canada geese be friends.
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March 28, 2012 at 6:33 am
Yes, what a great surprise to have a snow goose visiting Morning Bray Farm! Looks that snow goose and Canada geese be friends.
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March 28, 2012 at 7:01 am
How fascinating! I love the shot of them flying off together. The snow goose looks like a duck next to those hefty Canadians, eh? 😉
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March 28, 2012 at 7:06 am
I love how the Canadian geese have taken her under their wings. And look at that grass starting to grow!
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March 28, 2012 at 7:08 am
Amazing in-flight photos. Bon voyage to the snow goose.
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March 28, 2012 at 7:41 am
I’ve never seen a snow goose before. I loved seeing the pictures of her (?) with her traveling partners. Great shots!
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March 28, 2012 at 8:31 am
I used to hunt geese and don’t remember there being such a size difference. Maybe you’ve got a bunch of Giant Canada geese on your place. I never knew there was such a thing until we shot one. Who knows.
It’s just wonderful that they let the little Snow fly along. I’m sure he/she appreciates the company and the wind break when flying. 🙂
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March 28, 2012 at 8:34 am
Awesome, you have very good observing eyes where you can catch unique shots to take from time to time. I recalled the day when you were on the ground crawling closer to,I think, the goat for better close up pictures couple years ago or so. Never cease at your performance as a photographer at home.
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March 28, 2012 at 8:45 am
Great in flight photo you snapped. The snow geese size is shown very nicely in comparison to the Canada geese. I love it when you see whole “blizzards” in a field down your way. It actually looks like snow has not melted but this little one is late to the prom huh?
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March 28, 2012 at 1:07 pm
We used to see mixed strings of Snow and Canada geese above the Arsenal. Very dramatic looking, especially on a bright lit blue sky sunny day! The Snow Geese just seem to glow!!!
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March 28, 2012 at 3:17 pm
Amazing! Nature always surprises us! Thank you for sharing!
Would it not be wonderful if humans could accept ‘outsiders’ in their mist in such a friendly way?
Blessings,
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March 28, 2012 at 8:39 pm
And I always thought it was called a gaggle of geese…
Such a difference in size! Could that be a young Snow Goose?
Love your photographs!!
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March 28, 2012 at 9:45 pm
You prompted me to look up their average size ranges and there does seem to be quite a difference. I’m still surprised. 🙂
Canada goose:
Size: Body, 30 to 43 in (76 to 110 cm); Wingspan, 4.2 to 5.6 ft (1.3 to 1.7 m)
Weight:6.6 to 19.8 lbs (3 to 9 kg)
Snow goose:
Size: 27 to 33 in (69 to 83 cm); wingspan, 4.5 ft (1.4 m)
Weight:3.5 to 7.3 lbs (1.6 to 3.3 kg)
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March 28, 2012 at 9:21 pm
It’s nice to know that there isn’t any prejudice. Nice photos.
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March 29, 2012 at 5:36 am
I’ve never seen a snow goose before. Ah, the things I learn by reading your great blog! 🙂
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March 29, 2012 at 11:34 am
How sweet and sad, all at the same time. We used to get whole fields covered with snow geese during migration where I used to live. Blizzard seems a very apt description.
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March 29, 2012 at 7:05 pm
ahhh….. I’m a little sad for the snow goose who got left behind; maybe it will have a happy ending like “Home Alone”!
I always learn something new from you, Justina! never heard of a snow goose…. thanks for sharing
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March 30, 2012 at 10:40 am
I really enjoyed these photos, especially the ones in flight. Amazing that the Canada Geese accepted the other so willingly.
Looks like I haven’t commented in so long that I’ve lost my automatic login!!! Sorry –
Nancy in Iowa
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March 1, 2013 at 1:38 pm
The reason it looks so small is because it is a Ross’s Goose (Chen rossii), not a Snow Goose. That’s a good thing- Ross’s Geese are even rarer!
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March 1, 2013 at 2:36 pm
Patrick,
Well, how cool is that? Thanks! I really appreciate your comment. 🙂
Ross’s Goose: http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/293/_/Rosss_Goose.aspx
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