Snow Goose
From Natural History of Southeast Alaska
Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens) Probably an Uncommon migrant, though Very Rare on the ground along the road system. Best seen by carefully observing flocks of geese flying overhead during migration.
| Spring | Summer | Fall | Winter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very Rare | - | Rare | - |
Breeding Status: Not expected to breed
Family: Anatidae
Documented in the Sitka area
J Dan Webster
Scarce migrant. In 1940 (Webster, 1941) I saw flocks at Sitka 10 to 31 May. Johnstone saw one for two weeks in mid-November 1975 (Kessel and Gibson MS). Ward and Tedin saw 12 on 22 November 2001 (Tobish 2002).
Snow Geese almost certainly fly over Sitka each year. According to the Birds of North America entry on the Snow Goose, the birds flying over the Sitka area are most likely some of the 80,000+ Snow Geese that breed on Wrangel Island. Despite the strong probability that these birds fly over Sitka in some numbers each year, they have rarely been reported. It is clear that they very rarely spend much, if any, time on the ground along the Sitka road system, though it is possible they may more often spend some down time at other locations in the greater Sitka area. They are probably under reported in flights due to poor conditions for observation of flocks that are flying high overhead and a failure to look carefully because of a default assumption that flocks of flying geese are the more common Canada Goose.
