Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: BowEd on February 27, 2018, 10:41:03 am

Title: Snow geese migration
Post by: BowEd on February 27, 2018, 10:41:03 am
Shades of spring coming over me here.Nice extended warm front the last few days here.Into the 50's.Snow geese flying northwest.Every day large groups going by lately.I'm no goose hunter really but it's fun to see.I do like to eat goose though....lol.Even tame ones!!!
I'll try to get pics but they are pretty darn high for my cheapy camera to pic up.
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: PEARL DRUMS on February 27, 2018, 10:59:58 am
We have bald eagles all over, counted 14 Sunday morning. They make a week long appearance every spring to eat all the winter kill gizzard shad in the lake.
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: Hawkdancer on February 27, 2018, 11:23:27 am
We are going to try to get out a bit further east and locate a feeding area to bag a few.  There are some flying in our Front Range, but most are further out on the plains.
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: Marc St Louis on February 27, 2018, 12:06:20 pm
Some Canada's flew over the house this morning.  That's almost a month sooner than we usually see them
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: BowEd on February 27, 2018, 04:52:50 pm
We have some local canadian geese that never do go anywhere.Stay here year round.Must be the large lake and ponds we have here or the climate maybe?They do have plenty of corn fields to feed on that's for sure.They must of defected to the USA permanently I suppose???....lol.They do make quite a racket flying very low every spring morning reestablishing their mating bonds themselves as previous mated pairs looking to nest somewhere,but hav'nt started to do that yet.
Quite a bunch of canadians stay here really.I have eaten a few of those.
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: Zuma on February 27, 2018, 06:44:01 pm
Hot Dog (SH) (AT) )P(
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: Marc St Louis on February 27, 2018, 08:00:54 pm
I've never seen a Canada stick around all winter up here.  They'll stay till Dec. on a good year and don't come back till March.  Mallards do stay year round though but only within the small city nearby
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: Iowahedge on February 28, 2018, 08:02:57 am
Surprising saw a field yesterday that looked like the snow never melted cause there was so many snow geese in it. Usually have to go to BowEd’s neck of the woods to see large numbers of snows. Saw a lot flying over at the game farm in the northern part of Missouri this weekend.
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: BowEd on February 28, 2018, 09:43:37 am
Cool...They are'nt landing here like I wish they would.Largest amount of birds I've ever seen was along the Missouri fly way by De Soto bend in western Iowa.So many it's hard to describe.I don't know how the DNR comes up with the estimated numbers they say....lol.
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: Hawkdancer on February 28, 2018, 11:45:12 am
Ed,
They take a scientific w.a.g - how many fit into a picture of a known area and multiply >:D, give or take a few thousand!  Either way, it is a lot of geese!  I guess if you shoot at one and knock down 3, it is a lot more geese!
Hawkdancer
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: Stoker on February 28, 2018, 01:05:04 pm
good to know they're on the way back. Might have to get out for a spring shoot
Leroy
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: Zuma on February 28, 2018, 06:40:10 pm
Some from the past
Zuma
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: Parnell on March 01, 2018, 09:09:35 am
Started seeing the songbirds flocking together to fly north for the summer 2 weeks ago down here...waiting to see the first Kites from S America, it’ll be anytime now.
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: BowEd on March 01, 2018, 04:26:01 pm
Nice pics Greg.Quite a specteckle.Was that from last years excursion?
I see Parnell.It seems everybody in their own area have travlers going through.Cool.
Robin and me had some business north of us.She of course had her camera.Along the way maybe 15 miles north a group of what I thought were snow geese but I see they are a grey type goose too.Completely different than snow geese.They were taking a break I suppose in what we call here the pin oak marsh.Is that white headed one in the close up pic in the center an immature snow goose?Maybe a cross bred?....lol.
(https://i.imgur.com/SbMhShO.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/6z9b3UU.jpg)
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: Zuma on March 01, 2018, 08:35:41 pm
Ed
My buddy says you are correct about some juvenial snows. Also some Ross (small white geese). The dark ones are Blue Geese a Canada/Snow mix. Sometimes there are Speckels which are off limits in the spring. None in close-up I can see.
Thanks for the pics Robin! Oh BTW thanks Ed the ones I posted were from 2016. I have videos that are amazing.
I can send them in email if I get a PM
Zuma
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: Zuma on March 04, 2018, 10:43:20 am
Ed it looks like the geese should be around your parts for a while. Snow all through the Dakotas. It's funny that Snow Geese don't really like snow ;D
Zuma
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: Mounter on March 10, 2018, 09:50:33 am
Cool pics. Snows and blues run about 50-50 in the flocks I see around here. Blues just being a color phase of the snow goose. The one n the close up is kinda unusual tho.

The darker ones in the back ground are speckle bellies, you can see some black stripes on a few in your picture. They're the best eating goose IMO.
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: Zuma on March 12, 2018, 11:49:21 am
Ducks Unlimited has a fowl migration web site.
It has reports from private observers on the ground.
The last reports I saw had the snows sorta trapped in
Iowa and southern South Dakota. Deep snow north of there.
Zuma
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: Zuma on April 14, 2018, 07:46:58 pm
The geese got hung up in Iowa and South Dakota for a month or so.
Some friends were even killing them in northern AK a week ago.
Fortunatly I book off on the 4,500 mi. trip to North Dakota.
My buddy is in Bismark. He shot one goose. He says they won't
 decoy in and they are flying high and fast, Lucky me. Oh yeah, just
 crackin freezing during the day with plenty of snow and mud.
I think the geese need to get to the Arctic asap as they are very late this year.
Zuma
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: BowEd on April 14, 2018, 08:30:53 pm
Well I guess that's the way hunting geese can go I quess.Do you usually shoot a bunch? I think Gary here got a couple dozen snow geese in Iowa here but it was in just a couple of days worth of hunting.
Title: Re: Snow geese migration
Post by: Zuma on April 15, 2018, 12:46:45 pm
Ed I have never hunted with decoys. My buddies that do in the rice fields
shoot them in the thousands. A usual day in ND sniping may produce a half
dozen if lucky. But this year is pretty different due to the whacky weather.
I think it will be great for the farmers though.
Zuma