Wintering Geese in Southeastern Pennsylvania

     Several kinds of handsome geese winter on many human-made impoundments in southeastern Pennsylvania, as they do elsewhere across much of the United States.  And Canada geese are, by far, the most numerous goose species regularly wintering on southeastern Pennsylvania lakes.  They rest on those bodies of water in flocks of hundreds, even thousands. 
     Snow geese are common here, too, but only in part of each winter because they move around a lot. 
     And five other kinds of geese, including Atlantic brant, cackling geese and  barnacle geese in the Branta genus with Canada geese, Ross's geese in the Chen genus with snow geese, and white-fronted geese in the Anser genus, winter here occasionally in single-digit numbers for the most part.
     The great, noisy flocks of stately Canada geese dominate the impoundments they settle on to rest, preen and socialize.  When hungry, group after group of Canadas, all honking loudly, run across the water while flapping their powerful wings, and take swift flight off the lakes, into the wind, and off to harvested corn fields to eat waste corn kernels, or to winter rye fields to pluck the green shoots of rye.  When arriving at a feeding field, Canada goose flocks that trailed each other across farmland, bugling loudly all the way, stream down into the wind to a field, gang after gang, as if on an aerial highway, each bird extending its wings like parachutes.    
     When full of corn kernels or rye blades, flocks of Canadas run across the field, in one minute intervals, and lift off into the wind to sweep back to their resting impoundments.  There each gang swings into the wind again and floats gently down to the water, as each bird's reflection races through the water to meet its bird in splashing impact. 
     Canada geese are a large, picturesque part of southeastern Pennsylvania in winter.  Great gatherings of these big, majestic birds are always exciting to see and hear, wherever they may be.  They add much life to this area's lakes and fields, all of which are human-made habitats they adapted to.  But great hordes of bugling Canada geese in flight are most exciting and inspiring to see and hear at sunrise and sunset when silhouetted black before the red sky.
     Those masses of elegant Canadas attract other kinds of geese to this area's lakes and farmland, especially the awe-inspiring snow geese in their boisterous, overwhelming tens of thousands, often in one giant horde. 
     Snows usually arrive here in mid-February and stay until almost the middle of March.  Like Canadas, snow geese rest on local impoundments and fly out to feeding fields in great, writhing lines, one after another, like waves sliding up a beach.  The whole mass of snows often rise from water and fields at once, with a deafening roar of beating wings and high-pitched, honking voices, and looking like a giant sheet being lifted by one end.
     Snow geese feed in the same fields that Canada geese do.  But snow goose hordes are so large that the snows have to move from field to field every day to get enough to eat.  Snows often clean out fields, causing Canadas to move to other feeding fields, too.
     Brant, cackling geese, barnacle geese and Ross's geese are all small species, hardly larger than mallard ducks.  These species of petite and attractive geese have short necks, and small heads and beaks.  Cackling geese are miniature editions of Canada geese and Ross's are miniature editions of snow geese.  In winter, these species of smaller geese, and a few white-fronted geese, join gangs of Canada and snow geese, adding more excitement to birders when those geese are spotted among the larger ones on impoundments and in fields.
     Brant, and cackling and Ross's geese, raise young on the Canadian tundra.  And brant and barnacle geese hatch offspring on the coasts of Greenland. 
     Barnacle pairs nest on sea cliffs to hatch young away from Arctic foxes and polar bears.  But when their goslings hatch, those youngsters must jump off the cliffs to the ground or water below.  A few goslings are killed or injured by the impact and some get caught and eaten by Arctic foxes, but the majority of barnacle goslings survive the leap.
     Look for these attractive geese this winter and into early spring, or in successive winters.  They are exciting and inspiring to experience.