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Snow Goose Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: A ritual of spring, and one of the most encouraging signs that a long South Dakota winter may finally be coming to an end, are the often endless streams of Snow Geese that are migrating northward through the state. From a photo perspective, they can be tough to shoot! With massive migratory flocks that are often in the thousands, it's hard to capture the scale in one photo. On the other hand, given the hunting pressure on these guys, they're typically difficult to get close to for more intimate shots.

But...I'm not proud! I'll take a photo any way I can get it (as long as it's safe for me and the bird). Sometimes one of those migrating birds is injured, or starts to hang around the ever present hoards of Canada Geese that are oh so common in city parks and ponds. And often, those birds are much more tame than your typical snow goose. The Snow Goose photos from Arrowhead Park in Sioux Falls represent some of those photo opportunities you normally don't get of a species. My favorite photo of the species is the pair below, taken in November near Yankton, South Dakota.

Snow Goose - Chen caerulescens

Snow Goose 1- Chen caerulescens Snow Goose 2 - Chen caerulescens Snow Goose 3 - Chen caerulescens Snow Goose 4 - Chen caerulescens

Snow Goose 1

March 12th, 2003
Platte River, Nebraska

Snow Goose 2

November 17th, 2002
Gavin's Point Dam, near Yankton, S.Dakota

Snow Goose 3

November 20th, 2005
Arrowhead Park, near Sioux Falls, S.Dakota

Snow Goose 4

May 9th, 2004
Arrowhead Park near Sioux Falls, S.Dakota

Snow Goose 5 - Chen caerulescens

Snow Goose 6 - Chen caerulescens

Snow Goose 7 - Chen caerulescens

Snow Goose 8 - Chen caerulescens

Snow Goose 5

May 9th, 2004
Arrowhead Park near Sioux Falls, S.Dakota

Snow Goose 6

May 9th, 2004
Arrowhead Park near Sioux Falls, S.Dakota

Snow Goose 7

May 8th, 2005
Arrowhead Park near Sioux Falls, S.Dakota

Snow Goose 8

June 8th, 2005
Arrowhead Park near Sioux Falls, S.Dakota
Snow Goose 9 - Chen caerulescens Snow Goose 10 - Chen caerulescens Snow Goose 11 - Chen caerulescens Snow Goose 12 - Chen caerulescens 

Snow Goose 9

March 22nd, 2006
Minnehaha County, South Dakota

Snow Goose 10

November 15th, 2020

Yankton, South Dakota

Snow Goose 11

November 15th, 2020

Yankton, South Dakota

Snow Goose 12

April 7th, 2018

Western Minnehaha County, South Dakota

Snow Goose 13 - Chen caerulescens       

Snow Goose 13

April 1st, 2017

Western Minnehaha County, South Dakota

     

Click here for the species description page for the Snow Goose.

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Please mail any comments/suggestions/additional links for this page to: Terry L. Sohl