It is March 1 at 8 a.m. and I was feeding the cats and looked out my back window. And there were Snow Geese, flying from one field to the next! They are always a good sign that Spring is on its way as they make their long journey north!

I have not seen them in these fields for about two years. The photos and I have taken are from Youngs Island Road looking south and west with Jenny Jump State Forest’s ridge as a backdrop.  After taking some photos, I returned home to post some pictures on Facebook and when I headed out to get breakfast, they were all gone!

I have written a couple of Insidewarren.com articles about Snow Geese.  The first was dated 3/18/2019 and titled ‘Long Distance Travelers are a sure sign Spring is around the Corner’  The second was dated 12/16/2019 titled Snow Geese.  I am thinking, why not use the Snow Geese as a Nature’s Bulletin Board – with the message, Spring is Coming!  Then tie into an article about how New Jersey is actually one of the premier places in the country to observe birds!! Showcase some colorful birds.

Time for some background, gleaned from various sources:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Snow Snow Goose, 25”-31”  is smaller than the Canada Goose, 35”-45”. They are pure white with black wing tips. They breed in the Arctic Tundra and winter in salt marshes and coastal bays, less common in freshwater marshes and adjacent grain fields.  Range:  Breeds in artic regions of North America and extreme eastern Siberia.  In the West, winters from southern British Columbia and central California south to Baja California. Also from mid-Atlantic Coast and Gulf Coast from Mississippi to Texas. They travel great distances in their migrations from the arctic to the Gulf Coast. They are also very high flyers, sometimes just barely seen high in the sky! They can still be identified at these great altitudes because of their shifting curved lines and arcs they form as they fly.  Old time hunters call them “Wavies”, but not because of the shape of their flocks; the word is derived from ‘wewe’, the Chippewa name for the species.  These are beautiful birds!  They are also really something to watch and hear, in all phases of their activities, whether high over-head in their classic waves, OR, up close, witnessing them in perfect unison, blasting off from the ground with their deafening ‘barks’!!  My Flickr site has five albums covering all phases of their activities – I believe you will find those quite entertaining!

NOTE:  Getting an opportunity to observe Snow Geese is a fun, exciting and an awe inspiring event.  Whether they are flying far overhead in their famous long wavy lines with their tell-tale high pitched honking, or whether you are observing their flocks of thousands on a lake or farmland, quite a sight!

I was fortunate/LUCKY, a couple of years ago, to have a large flock right in my backyard. I sneaked out my front door worked my way to the back of my house with camera ready, where I observed, photographed and recorded a moderately noisy flock foraging in the sod fields – SUDDENLY, the entire flock exploded into the air, with a deafening highly agitated chorus of thousands. The story I related is your first Flickr link!!  Enjoy!!!Please go to my Flickr site for more photos and videos: Snow Geese commotion in my backyard – https://www.flickr.com/photos/charliefineran/albums/72157651384859696

Merrill Creek Reservoir is probably the best place to observe these huge flocks in the Spring and Fall during their migrations!

****QUESTION – Why is New Jersey considered one of the best birding places in the entire country?  ANSWER – Location/Location/Location! 

The spring brings in some of the most colorful birds on the continent, as New Jersey is in the middle of many migratory bird’s paths.  Think of it this way, (1) New Jersey is at the southern end of the Artic Bird’s path! (2) New Jersey is at the northern end of the Tropical Bird’s path (3) New Jersey is part of the Water Bird Path being a coastal state, having the Delaware River and its great Bay along with other numerous rivers and lakes. I believe this statement from the Audubon Society of NJ also nicely explains New Jersey.  “Move past the suburbs:  This small state packs a punch with habitat variety.  When it comes to birding, there’s probably no state with a greater disconnect between image and reality than New Jersey.  Many people think of New Jersey as suburbs, factories, turnpikes, and seaside tourist towns like Atlantic City.  It is true that it’s the most densely populated state, but it is just as true that New Jersey encompasses a wide and rewarding array of habitats and natural areas.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Every Spring in May, the NJ Audubon Society holds a one-day competition called the World Series of Birding.  In some years, the winning team has recorded more than 230 species.  FOLKS – That’s over the course of just 24 hours!  The reason the World Series yields such big numbers is the great diversity of habitats in such a relatively small state.  New Jersey contains barrier islands on the Atlantic coast;  extensive marshes on the Delaware Bay; mixed pine-hardwood forest in the central part of the state; grasslands in the north; protected areas such as Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, just 20 miles from Manhattan and probably the same distance from Warren County; and highlands in the northwest corner (WHERE WE LIVE) that host breeding species associated with higher latitudes.    

During Fall, there is Cape May, which has become legendary for its fall migration.  Cape May contains a diverse array of habitats on a single peninsula, attracting surges of neotropical migrants, shorebirds, waterbirds, hawks and owls.  You can have your own World Series there on pretty much any autumn day. For more on this, go to audubon.org.

Enjoy Your Open Space

Charlie Fineran

Director Open Space   

Allamuchy Township Environmental Commission – Chairman

Allamuchy Historical Society – President