Million Snow Geese swarm a Missouri wildlife refuge

MOUND CITY, Mo. – Persons are flocking to a northwest Missouri wildlife refuge the place greater than 1,000,000 snow geese have taken up residence these days. 

The Loess Bluffs Nationwide Wildlife Refuge (NWR) has been busy with crowds taking movies and photos of the spectacular scene. 

There’s precise information to again up the declare that there are greater than 1,000,000 birds taking refuge within the Mound Metropolis, Mo. wetland, about an hour and a half north of Kansas Metropolis. 

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service tracks the waterfowl and bald eagle use on Loess Bluffs NWR weekly between fall and spring. 

The most recent waterfowl and eagle survey report says the week of Feb. 27, there have been practically 1.1 million Snow Geese noticed at Loess Bluffs. Based on the report from the week of February 22, there have been 1.3 million Snow Geese there. The info exhibits there was an unlimited improve between the tip of the month and the start of February when there have been solely 403,000 within the space. 

The refuge’s Fb web page stated employees and guests noticed what appeared to me greater than two million Snow Geese one weekend in February.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service stated the estimates are derived utilizing Built-in Waterbird Administration and Monitoring protocol. You possibly can study extra about how the flock dimension is estimated right here.

Why do Snow Geese select Missouri?

Snow Geese, medium-sized and white with black-tipped wings and a pink beak, winter in Missouri.

Based on Dan Zarlenga, with the Missouri Division of Conservation, they fly south to the “show-me” state to flee the acute chilly of their nesting grounds, the arctic tundra. He says they spend summers in northern Alaska, northern Canada and Greenland nesting, mating and rearing younger. Social birds, they fly by the 1000’s and it’s fairly a sight to see all of them gathered at a marsh, river, lake or crop discipline.

And whereas most avian creatures fly additional south throughout Missouri’s winter on account of lack of meals, these geese have developed their palates. Zarlenga explains that in addition to having the ability to dig up marsh plant roots to eat, they will even feast on leftover acquire and different agricultural waste in crop fields.

Actually, it’s due to human farming practices which have helped the inhabitants of snow geese to growth. “It’s estimated there are greater than 5 million breeding snow geese with the inhabitants rising by over 5% every year,” says Zarlenga.