WHEN THE SNOW FLIES

About 100,000 Snow Geese that breed on Wrangel Island in Siberia migrate along the Pacific Coast to spend the winter in Washington State and California. About half of these birds stop on the Fraser River delta between late September and early December to feed on the underground roots of sedges and bullrushes growing at the river's mouth and farm crops on the delta. Dr. Sean Boyd of the Canadian Wildlife Service in Delta, B. C. has been studying the feeding habits of Snow Geese for many years. Studies in the 1970s indicated that about one-third of the underground roots were eaten by Snow Geese. Since then the population of Snow Geese using the Fraser River delta has increased by 3 to 4 times and the geese shifted to feeding in farmlands in the 1980s. On their winter quarters at the Skagit River delta in Washington, Snow Geese foraged in farm fields for decades mostly after the close of the hunting season in January. Back on the Fraser River delta, Snow Geese gather in large flocks on farmland in the Alaksen National Wildlife Area and the adjacent George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary where hunting is prohibited. Dr. Boyd suggests that the increased number of Snow Geese have grazed the estuarine marsh below a point where it is now better off to feed on grasses on farmlands closed to hunting. The best place to see Snow Geese on the Fraser River delta is at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary, about 10 km west of the town of Ladner on Westham Island. The sanctuary is open every day. Call (604) 946-6980 for details.

For more information on the Snow Geese check out our regional indicator series.

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