Snow Geese

white specks, high above

thousands of friends in flight – honk!

Arctic lands await.

I am very fortunate to have seen snow geese on their breeding grounds, which is in the high Arctic. Over a decade ago, I spent time on Bylot Island one summer (searching for spiders) and I was staying in “goose camp” with researchers studying snow geese. It was an astounding and awe-inspiring trip. I’m also thankful that my home now is along one of the (more minor) flight paths of snow geese as they make their way north in the spring. About 30 km away is a location where they hang out for a while as they migrate north. A few weekends ago we drove down to see if they were still there, and true to form, we saw thousands of them huddled together on the ice (the bay they were in was about two-thirds ice-covered still). Seeing snow geese is another sign of the changing seasons.

It was breathtaking – so many birds! And so much noise! After about 20 minutes we saw a few dozen more fly in to join their friends, and about ten minutes after that the entire flock took off and started slow skyward circles. Thousands of white birds on the wing is difficult to describe and even though they were about a kilometre or so away, you felt as if in their midst. The black tips of their wings create contrast and a vibrancy to the movement- almost as if they were shimmering as they did slow circles.

Our earth gives and provides so much for the most amazing flora and fauna that has evolved to perfection; the value of this cannot be estimated in terms we can grasp. It is everything. So, watch the trees, spiders, birds*, and moose at every chance. Nature’s Reverie is all around us. If we watch, we might start to care more, if we care, we pay attention more, and spend less time tied to screens indoors and in sterile environments. When we pay more attention, we notice changes, including those that are causing harm and those that are beyond normal variation.

Thousands of snow geese in flight is surely an easy pathway to astonishment; nature provides a palette for astonishment every single day.

*I realize that my posts are very biased towards birds! I’m a bit obsessed with our feathered friends and, well, make no apologies for it either!!

© Christopher M Buddle 2023