Snow geese

The arrival of the snow geese to Westham Island, is a every exciting occurance for the people of Ladner and bird enthusiasts everywhere. 70, 000 of them migrate each autumn, from their home on Wrangle Island (a remote Island above the most north-easterly tip of mainland Russia), to somewhere in California; the journey to Westham Island alone is 5,000 kms. The birds begin arriving late September - early October and stay for two months - mainly on Westham Island, but also surrounding areas. For these two months the birds graze on old crops left rotting in the fields after the summer harvest; rye and other grains, shoreline organic matter, potatoes, turnips - whatever appeals I guess. I spotted a large group in a field neighbouring the bird sanctuary; a turnip field. This field was next to the road and there were possibly a thousand or more birds here, the paddock over, which can just be seen in the background of this picture, had 4 times as many or more. The best chance of seeing them up close is at high tide, when they have to move inland a bit for their tucker. Most people are excited to see the snow geese and, as I am, are just in awe of how far they fly each year - twice.