The fog froze in layers to the antenna and windshield as Freezeout Lake came into view, and a a flock of 200 Snow Geese cross overhead. These were the last Snow Geese that we would see for the next couple of hours. The weather man completely lied. His prediction of mid-50s with sunny skies had turned into 30 degrees with freezing fog and mist. The geese blew out in the dawn twilight and they stayed dispersed out in the fields. We eventually found a group of several thousand in a field with a couple of Sandhill Cranes. This pattern was repeating 4 times through the day. Among the white geese, there were roughly 0.5 percent blue phase geese and one Ross’s Goose.
 |
 |
 |
 |
The ponds were filled with Tundra Swans, and my estimate was around 3,000 of the lovely white beasts. Even in these numbers, the pair bonds were obvious as they were almost always in the company of their favorite other swan.
 |
 |
Even though we missed the colossal numbers of 100,000 or more, Freezeout and the Snow Geese is one my birding highlights every year.
[google-map-v3 width=”100%” height=”350″ zoom=”11″ maptype=”terrain” mapalign=”center” directionhint=”false” language=”default” poweredby=”false” maptypecontrol=”true” pancontrol=”true” zoomcontrol=”true” scalecontrol=”true” streetviewcontrol=”false” scrollwheelcontrol=”false” draggable=”false” tiltfourtyfive=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkerlist=”47.6666181, -112.0508404{}zoo.png” bubbleautopan=”true” showbike=”false” showtraffic=”false” showpanoramio=”false”]
I see these fellas when they hit Rondeau Provincial Park on Lake Erie.. they make such a noise, you can hear it for kms away! Amazing sight, seeing thousands of them in Rondeau Bay 🙂