“Power of Flight” by Neal Maine/ PacificLight Images
Pacific Flyway
Snow Geese
Snow geese fly along the Pacific Flyway in narrow corridors, more than 3,000 miles from traditional nesting areas in the Arctic tundra to wintering areas along the coast. They visit traditional stopover habitats in spectacular numbers.
Q: What is the Pacific Flyway, you ask?
A: The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in America, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Naturalists can often predict to the day when a particular species will show up in their area.
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/snow-goose
After a thirty-year career as an award-winning biology teacher at Seaside High School, Neal Maine became the first executive director of North Coast Land Conservancy, which he co-founded in 1986. Since his retirement from the land trust in 2010, he has pursued his passion for nature photography through PacificLight Images. His photographs center around coastal and Columbia River landscape, ecology and the rich estuary habitat with the surrounding wetlands and forest systems.
Neal focuses his imagery on exploring wildlife in the context of its habitat. PacificLight Images is dedicated to working with coastal communities to protect wildlife habitat and its connectivity. 100% profits are donated to NCLC, North Coast Land Conservancy, to help further this goal
To read more about the naturalist, please go to artists tab … Neal Maine at https://fairweatherhouseandgallery.com
Fun facts about Snow Geese:
SIZE: 27 to 33 in; wingspan, 4.5 ft
Snow Geese stay with the same mate for life.
The oldest Snow Goose on record was 27 and a half.
Snow Geese make epic journeys by air, but they are impressive on foot, too. Within the first three weeks of hatching, goslings may walk up to 50 miles with their parents.
The Snow Goose breeds north of the timberline in Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and the northeastern tip of Siberia. They fly high as far as 5,000 feet about the ground.
The Snow Goose has two color plumage morphs, white (snow) or gray/blue (blue), thus the common description as “snow goose” and “blue goose.”
