Driving back to Missouri yesterday, I encountered several large flocks of snow geese in the broad, Kaskaskia Valley of central Illinois; one of the flocks must have contained thousands of geese. Attracted by the flooded fields and corn stubble, they had stopped to rest and feed on their long journey to the Arctic. Last night, I awoke to the high-pitched calls of another flock as they moved northward over Columbia.
While the spring duck migration peaks in March, cranes, swans and geese begin moving north in February, taking advantage of southerly winds that develop in advance of cold fronts. Enroute, they follow north-south river channels and descend at favored rest stops. Birders and hunters know these routes well, as do the bald eagles and peregrine falcons that follow and feed on the migrants.
For me, there are few sights in nature more stirring than a large, noisy flock of snow geese. More than a spectacle, they are the true vanguard of spring!
