Image Via: Wes David
Image Via: Wes David

Spring snow geese: A primer on scouting, set-ups and gear for these plentiful honkers

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Credit: Wes David
Credit: Wes David

Prairie pit stop

During the spring migration from the Gulf of Mexico area to their Arctic breeding grounds, many large flocks of snow geese fly along a narrow corridor stretching roughly 5,000 kilometres. The geese come in two colours: white and blue/grey (hence the name blue goose). The white goose is more abundant, but when blues are mixed into a flock, which is common, they stick out like sore thumbs. Both can be legally hunted during the spring season in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The migration route takes the geese over some of North America’s richest agricultural land, with the farm fields of the Prairie provinces serving as their first stop as they cross into western Canada from North Dakota and Montana. Millions of snow geese, as well as Ross’s geese, will stop in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to rest and replenish their bodies with much-needed nutrients before pushing farther north.

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