Where Do You Hide 500,000 Snow Geese?

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I’ve been checking the weekly bird counts at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge since mid-October for the migration of the snow geese. It’s a spectacular sight with tens of thousands of birds arriving in a single day. But the numbers never rose above a couple hundred at best.

I emailed refuge manager Larry Klimek to find out if I had missed them somehow. Larry informed me that something caused the snow geese to change their migration patterns. In fact, the geese haven’t made DeSoto a stop in their migration for the last five years. They now come through Central Nebraska on their way South.

So what has changed to cause half a million birds to find refuge elsewhere? Has so much land along their Iowa route been turned into housing developments that they’ve shifted their route? Has global warming done something to change it?

Whatever it is, Iowan’s have lost the opportunity to view one of natures true spectacles.

But it’s not just us that have missed out. Eagles, coyote, fox and other predators have one less source to help sustain them into the winter months. Might this effect their populations in Iowa? Can they make the shift as well to follow the geese? Will we see a decrease in their numbers? Only time will tell.

Hopefully next Fall I can witness the mass migration with my own eyes before it is lost forever only to reside in fireside chats on a cold winter night.

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