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Lesser Snow Goose
There are two different kinds of Snow
Geese: The Greater Snow Goose and the
Lesser Snow Goose. What we have in our
area, right now, are the Lesser Snow
Geese.
The Goose's eyes are on the side of its
head, allowing it the ability to see
almost in a complete circle. The average
length of a Snow Goose is 19 in. Its
average wing spread is 59 inches. The
Snow Goose can hear very well, but it
does not have a good sense of smell. It
depends on its sight and hearing to get
food. Which consists of: grasses, waste
crops and roots.
The Lesser Snow Goose goes through a
phase of being "blue." Its feathers turn
darker. They change colors depending on
which color will help them camouflage
themselves, at different times of the
year.
Snow Geese migrate in large flocks. When
migrating, they fly at about fifty miles
per hour in a "V" shaped formation.The
Snow Goose spends its winters in
southern U.S.A. And northern Mexico.
When the goose is about 2 years old, it
starts looking for a mate, during the
winter migration season. It will mate
and lays its eggs during the spring. It
can lay between 2 to 10 eggs, but
normally lays only four to five. The
female guards the nest. The male also
stays around, to keep predators away.
The nest is always near water,
and is made up of grass, moss and small
willow branches, with downy feathers
added for warmth. The eggs hatch in
about 3 weeks. About two weeks after the
brood is hatched, the parents start
molting and are unable to fly while in
this molting state. By the time they
have finished molting, the babies are
able to fly and leave with their
parents. Lesser Snow Geese usually leave
our area in February.
What can you do to
make sure the habitat will be clean and
safe for them to return to next year?
"Like winds and sunsets, wild things
were taken for granted until progress
began to do away with them. Now we face
the question whether a still higher
'standard of living' is worth its cost
in things natural, wild and free. The
opportunity to see geese is much more
important than television ! "
Aldo Leopold
Resources:http://www.thewildones.org.
Previously posted January 2006
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