Winter/Spring 2001

Species Profile: Snow Goose

The snow goose is an ever increasing species of goose in Mississippi. It has two color phases, a blue phase and a white phase. "Snows", as they are commonly called, are highly sought-after birds in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, but the increasing occurrence of larger populations wintering in Mississippi still hasn't generated a high demand by the Magnolia State's waterfowlers.

The snow goose is 27 to 31 inches in length and averages about 4.5 pounds per juvenile and almost 6 pounds per adult. Adults of the white phase are completely white with black wing tips and pink feet, bill and legs. Immature white-face snow geese have a gray head, neck, back and upper wing surface. Wingtips are black, and the bill and legs are grayish-brown. Adults of the blue phase have a bluish-gray body and a white head, neck and tail. There are varying amounts of white on the under side of the bird. The bill, feet and legs are pink. This phase is dull brownish-gray with a gray upper wing, bill, feet and legs.

Snow geese found in Mississippi nest in colonies in the arctic and sub-arctic regions of North America from Baffin Island to Wrangel Island in Siberia. The largest colonies, however, are centered around the western coast to Hudson Bay. Snow geese nest on low, grassy tundra plains. Nests consist of scrapes on the ground that are made with vegetation such as moss, grass, sedges and willows. Most snow geese do not nest until they are three or four years of age. The average number of eggs each goose lays is four, with a sixty to ninety percent hatching success.

Snow geese begin migrating from the breeding grounds in mid-August with the bulk of the migration occurring in September. During migration, snow geese are found resting and feeding largely on agricultural areas of corn and winter wheat in the Midwest. As they migrate south, they shift to a diet of rice, soybeans and winter wheat.

Snow geese winter across the south central and western United States with the largest concentrations found in the central valley of California and the Gulf Coasts of Texas and Louisiana. Recently, larger concentrations are wintering in Mississippi, in response to favorable habitat conditions. The birds usually arrive in early December with the majority arriving in January. They remain in Mississippi throughout winter and begin flying back to the breeding grounds the first warm days of February.

Almost all of the snow goose management occurs on migration and wintering areas. As with other waterfowl, management consists primarily of providing geese with food, water and protection, whether it be in the rice fields of Mississippi or the coastal marshes of Louisiana and Texas.

This article was written by James L. Cummins, Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation.