Snow Geese: Delta Utah

For the past four years, a friend of mine and I have been traveling two hours from our home to Delta, Utah, around the end of February to see if we can find the Snow Geese who are migrating through the area. We have been successful 3/4 times. The time we didn’t see them had been an exceptionally warm winter, and they must have headed north before we arrived. The geese migrate thousands of miles each year between their breeding ground in the Arctic and their wintering grounds in the lower United States and Mexico. They love the farmlands in Delta, Utah, because they eat the roots and unharvested grain left over from the former fall months. They must take a different migrational route during the fall because we have only seen them during February.

Each year, I am able to capture a very different feel and mood compared to the previous year. This year, the area was drier than the previous year, so they were a bit more difficult to locate. They seem to prefer the moist soil, perhaps because the roots come out of the ground more easily. We finally located a small group of about 50 in a field, and as I was photographing them, two more huge flocks of at least a thousand few overhead. They were heading to the reservoir, so I knew we were heading there next. When they fly overhead, it sounds like a jet engine, and the honking is so loud that it definitely catches one’s attention. We also have to be careful if they are flying directly overhead because food passes through their digestive tract in only an hour or two, generating 6 - 15 droppings per hour. Times that by thousands of geese, and it can create quite a mess. We usually wear a hat, and bring an umbrella.

Although most of the Snow Geese are white with black-tipped wings, once in a while, there is a blue morph Snow Goose, which ends up adding some variety to the geese. Notice in my photos some of the ones with a little bit darker coloring.

Photographing the Snow Geese in Delta, Utah, is a bit tricky and often uncomfortable. Each year, there is a Snow Goose Festival that is publicized throughout the state. However, it is a double-edged sword because, besides the people promoting the festival, it seems the locals do not want us there at all. There are homes all around the reservoir, and their driveways are marked with “No Trespassing”, “Violators Prosecuted”, “Stay Out”, “No Parking”… very unfriendly. We can’t understand why they don’t want to earn a few more dollars each year and charge for parking at the prime locations or just share their space for a week or two. The birds are there with the friendly and excited birders.

In addition, when the lake is not frozen, the geese are far away from the shore or around bends that makes it impossible to capture a photograph at all. So, all in all, I feel very lucky to have been able to come home with any images. Last year, the geese were all in the fields because the water had frozen over, so it was much easier to capture some images. This year, with it being warmer, there were about 50 of them on the water in front of me but quite some distance out, but I’m happy with the few images I was able to capture. My favorites are the ones I took lying on my stomach on the boat ramp or of three of them flying together. The large flocks were on a bend too far away to capture anything without trespassing on people’s property. However, I did end up with some images that I just love, and I hope you do, too.