The Snow geese, Tundra swans, and Canada geese are on the move through Pennsylvania! They are on their way to arctic breeding grounds. This weekend there was around 85,000 Snow geese at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, along with lesser numbers of Tundra swans and Canada geese (which are a common sight year round in the Northeast.)
It was pretty amazing to see such a vast number of birds of one species. Apparently the birds leave the lake during the day to forage in nearby fields, so there is an even greater show at dawn and dusk. Geese on the lake, geese on the ground, geese taking off, geese landing, geese circling the skies - amazing! I took a picture of the sky, but it just looked like a mass of large bats. The Pennsylvania Game Commission seems to do a good job of keeping people out of most of the areas close to the lake. This was the main viewing area and the geese did not seem to care that they were being gawked at. The Tundra swans, however, kept to the more secluded coves. The little babe and I have watched nature films that show large masses of birds in wild areas, so it was a good chance for her to see it on a slightly smaller scale.
Do you have any exciting migration events where you live?