The Geese section contains a comprehensive section on the Snow Geese of Bosque del Apache
Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico consisting of an Overview page and five section pages containing
300 images, plus a page on Canada Geese, Greater White-Fronted Geese and Domestic Geese.

Click an image to open a larger version.
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Snow Geese (Section overview page and five pages):
Flight; Portraits; Flyout & Fly-in; Flock Scenes; Scenics

Canada Geese and Domestic Geese

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Geese Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Snow Geese     Canada Geese & Domestic Geese

Click the Display Composite above to visit the Snow Geese section Overview page.

Below are some of the sample images from the Overview page and links to section pages.
View the Overview page for additional samples and several images unique to that page.

Snow Geese White and Blue Morphs X0867 M

The two color phases of the Snow Goose are shown in this flight portrait taken in the early morning.
White morph geese fly to the right of and above a blue morph goose, defocused in the background.

White morph snow geese are far more numerous than the dark phase (blue morph) geese. The two color
phases were once thought to be different species, but as they interbreed and are found together throughout
their ranges, they are now considered to be two color phases of the same species. The offspring of interbred
light and dark phase birds can be of either morph (the dark phase is the result of a single dominant gene).

All of the landscape (horizontal) large version images linked from the thumbnails are 1500 pixels wide.
Portrait (vertical) images are 1200 pixels tall (1290 pixels with title bar). Images designated with an “M”
in the shot number are 5:4 aspect ratio, 1500 x 1290 with a title bar, or 1500 x 1200 without a title bar.

Ross's Geese in Flight X3798

A group of Ross’s Geese in flight at mid-morning. Note the shorter neck and bill and lack of the grin patch.

Click the Display Composite above to visit the Snow Geese in Flight page.

Snow Geese at Sunrise X8748 M

Snow Geese are backlit by the rising sun on a cold morning in December at Bosque del Apache, NM.

The individual in the central foreground with the darker head and neck is a juvenile.

Snow Goose in Flight 2218

A 420mm telephoto close portrait of a Snow Goose in flight over the farm fields in the early afternoon.

Click the Display Composite above to visit the Snow Goose Portraits and Flight Portraits page.

Bosque del Apache Dawn Flyout 2232

A cloud of Snow Geese fly over a flock placidly swimming on the main pond along with Sandhill Cranes
and ducks, as the first light of sunrise paints the sky on a thinly overcast morning at Bosque del Apache.

The morning flyout of the Snow Geese is one of Nature’s most spectacular scenes.
Tens of thousands of Snow Geese fill the sky in an instantaneous burst of flight. A group
of geese take off at nearly the same moment, flying within inches of each other, and as the
madly honking gaggle of geese fly over each pool, they set off the group of geese below.
This shot captures a gaggle of geese flying over a group of geese in the pool below,
just before that group breaks into flight to join them in their trip to the corn fields.

Bosque del Apache Dawn Flyout X8726

Thousands of Snow Geese fly over the main pond at Bosque del Apache at dawn in late December.

Snow Geese Dusk Landing 3615

A group of Snow Geese land on the main pond just after sunset in mid-December.

Click the Display Composite above to visit the Snow Goose Morning Flyout and Evening Fly-in page.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Geese Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Snow Geese     Canada Geese & Domestic Geese

Snow Geese at Dawn 3020

Snow Geese landing in front of a group of Sandhill Cranes at dawn in a Crane Pool
which reflects the mauve color of the impending sunrise on a mid-December morning.

Snow Geese Flyout Frenzy 2316

Snow Geese blast off from one of the Crane Pools in a mass flyout at dawn in mid-December.

Snow Geese are among the most populous birds in North America, and gather in huge flocks.
They breed in colonies in the arctic and subarctic tundra of Canada and north Alaska, migrating
distances of more than 3000 miles in the spring and fall. Lesser Snow Geese migrate down the
Pacific and Central Flyways to wintering areas in the Great Plains, Texas, New Mexico, Mexico
and California (Greater Snow Geese winter along the mid-Atlantic coast and the Carolinas).

Snow Geese have been divided into two subspecies based on size and geography, but
size overlap has caused some experts to question the division into Lesser and Greater.

Snow Geese Sunset Fly-in 3073

Snow Geese flying in extremely close formation at sunset over the main pool at Bosque del Apache.
Sometimes, it is difficult to believe that they never collide, as some individuals are only inches apart.

Click the Display Composite above to visit the Snow Goose Flock Scenes and Flight Flurries page.

Bosque del Apache Dawn Flyout 2735

Thousands of Snow Geese fly over the main pond at Bosque del Apache at dawn in mid-December.

Snow Geese Moon X4031

Snow Geese fly in front of the moon at sunset in early December.

This is one of three available images of this scene.

Ladd Gordon Snow Geese at Sunset HS8379

A formation of Snow Geese in front of a pink cloud at sunset over Ladd Gordon Waterfowl Complex.

Click the Display Composite above to visit the Snow Goose Scenics page.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Geese Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Snow Geese     Canada Geese & Domestic Geese

Canada Geese Sunset Flight 1132 M

Canada Geese fly into the setting sun over Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge in Southern California.

Canada Goose Bosque 1949 M

A portrait of a Canada Goose wintering at Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico.

The Canada Goose is native to North America, and is generally a migratory species, but they are
highly adaptable to human-altered areas and has become the most common waterfowl species in
North America. Non-migratory populations of Canada Geese have established residency in many
urban areas, and in some urban and densely-populated places they are considered to be pests.
Canada Geese have occasionally been involved in disastrous bird strikes on aircraft at takeoff.

Canada Goose and Goslings 0906

A Canada Goose shelters her goslings under her wings at the Los Angeles Arboretum.

Canada Goslings 0953

A terminally cute group of Canada goslings traversing the shore of Baldwin Lake at the LA Arboretum.

Canada Goose X1167

A Canada Goose patrols the green waters of the pond at Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge in Southern California.

Graylag Goose 4453

A Graylag Goose wandering on the vast lawn at the Los Angeles Arboretum.
The Graylag is a large migratory goose, and is the type species of the genus Anser.
The largest and bulkiest of the gray geese, the Graylag is the ancestor of all European and
North American domesticated geese. The name derives from their color and migration habits.

Swan Goose Portrait HS1317

The Swan Goose is a rare, large goose, primarily located in Eurasia.
It has been domesticated, and both introduced and feral escapees from
domesticated geese are occasionally found in North America. They are very
long-necked geese, and the males are significantly larger than the females.
Unlike other Anser geese which have red or orange bills, the Swan Goose
has a black bill. Swan geese with domesticated ancestors have a large
 knob at the base of the bill, larger in males (wild geese lack this knob).

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Geese Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Snow Geese     Canada Geese & Domestic Geese

Click the Display Composite above to return to the Ducks, Geese and Swans index page.