Snow geese blast off. After resting and preening on water, snow geese are startled by a coyote, hawk or just wind and take off en masse by the thousands. As many as 50,000 snow geese are found at Bosque del Apache NWR at times, stopping at the refuge during their winter migration along the Rio Grande River.
Species: Snow goose, Chen caerulescens
Location: Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro, New Mexico
Image ID: 21817
Snow geese at sunrise. Thousands of wintering snow geese take to the sky in predawn light in Bosque del Apache's famous "blast off". The flock can be as large as 20,000 geese or more. Long time exposure creates blurring among the geese.
Species: Snow goose, Chen caerulescens
Location: Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro, New Mexico
Image ID: 21827
Upland goose, male, walking across grasslands. Males have a white head and breast, females are brown with black-striped wings and yellow feet. Upland geese are 24-29" long and weigh about 7 lbs.
Species: Upland goose, Chloephaga picta
Location: New Island, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom
Image ID: 23769