Fall migration, October: snow geese at 5 sites in 5 states
Snow Goose Migration: Where the Flocks Are This Month
50 viewing sites in 27 states, the months each site’s manager gives for snow geese, the counts where a site posts them, and the spring conservation order dates.
Snow geese in October
From the refuges’ own pages
5
Sites in season in October
In 5 states
50
Viewing sites
In 27 states
Dec 7
Next conservation order opens
Louisiana, in 54 days
3
Festivals ahead
Next: Festival of the Cranes, Dec 2
Each month and peak below comes from the site’s manager, quoted and linked with the day it was read. The counts are the managers’ own, and the reports are iNaturalist research grade sightings.
Pick a month: the sites whose managers name it light up, and the grid underneath shows where people recorded snow and Ross’s geese that month.
Style
Layers
Peak in OctoberSnow geese in OctoberAnother part of the yeariNaturalist reports in October
5 of the 49 mapped sites have snow geese in October. Rainwater Basin Wetland Management District in Nebraska has no pin: its wetlands are scattered across many counties, with no single point to mark. A pin takes a color only in the months the refuge or agency that runs it gives for snow geese. The shaded grid is where people have logged a verified snow or Ross’s goose on iNaturalist in October, in any year, brighter where more have been logged; it maps reports, so it thickens where observers stand.
The sites in the order their peak comes
Peak October and NovemberDead Creek Wildlife Management Area, VermontSnow geese Oct and Nov. Source: Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. Peak now
Oct to MarJocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge, TexasSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In season now
Oct to AprFir Island Farm Reserve Unit, Skagit Wildlife Area, WashingtonSource: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. In season now
Peak November and DecemberSacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CaliforniaSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Peak NovemberBombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, DelawareSnow geese Oct to Mar. Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In season now
Peak November and DecemberEdwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New JerseySnow geese Oct to Feb. Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In season now
Peak November and DecemberChincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, VirginiaSnow geese Nov to Feb. Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Nov to FebBlackwater National Wildlife Refuge, MarylandSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Nov to MarBitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, New MexicoSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Nov to JanBosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New MexicoSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Nov to FebPocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Pungo Unit, North CarolinaSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Nov and DecSequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, OklahomaSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Nov to FebHagerman National Wildlife Refuge, TexasSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Peak December and JanuaryBack Bay National Wildlife Refuge, VirginiaSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Jan and FebGunnison Bend Reservoir, UtahSource: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (hosts the festival viewing event)
Peak February and MarchGrand Pass Conservation Area, MissouriSnow geese Feb and Mar. Source: Missouri Department of Conservation
Peak February to AprilKlamath Wildlife Area (Miller Island Unit), OregonSnow geese Feb to Apr. Source: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Feb and MarMiddle Creek Wildlife Management Area, PennsylvaniaSource: Pennsylvania Game Commission. 600 counted on March 10, 2026. Season high 65,000 on March 6, 2026
Feb to AprMontezuma National Wildlife Refuge, New YorkSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Peak MarchLoess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge, MissouriSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Peak MarchFreezout Lake Wildlife Management Area, MontanaSource: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Last season’s high 63,500 on March 17, 2026
MarCamas National Wildlife Refuge, IdahoSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Apr and MayGoose Bay State Game Refuge, AlaskaSource: Alaska Department of Fish and Game
MigrationPalmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge, AlaskaSource: Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Late fall and through winterBald Knob National Wildlife Refuge, ArkansasSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
WinterGray Lodge Wildlife Area, CaliforniaSource: California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Spring and fallLower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, CaliforniaSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
WinterSonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge, CaliforniaSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
WinterThurston Reservoir State Wildlife Area, ColoradoSource: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Spring migrationMarket Lake Wildlife Management Area, IdahoSource: Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Months not givenHorseshoe Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area, IllinoisSource: Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Months not givenUnion County State Fish and Wildlife Area, IllinoisSource: Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Late fall and winterDeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, IowaSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
SpringFlint Hills National Wildlife Refuge, KansasSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
SpringKirwin National Wildlife Refuge, KansasSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
WinterCameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge, LouisianaSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
WinterLacassine National Wildlife Refuge, LouisianaSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
FallDuck Creek Conservation Area, MissouriSource: Missouri Department of Conservation
SpringBenton Lake National Wildlife Refuge, MontanaSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
SpringRainwater Basin Wetland Management District, NebraskaSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Months not givenMattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, North CarolinaSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
WinterPea Island National Wildlife Refuge, North CarolinaSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
WinterWashita National Wildlife Refuge, OklahomaSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Spring and fallMalheur National Wildlife Refuge, OregonSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
WinterSauvie Island Wildlife Area, OregonSource: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
MigrationSummer Lake Wildlife Area, OregonSource: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Spring migrationSand Lake National Wildlife Refuge, South DakotaSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
WinterPlaya Lakes Wildlife Management Area, Taylor Lakes Unit, TexasSource: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
WinterSan Bernard National Wildlife Refuge, TexasSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
WinterLeque Island Unit, Skagit Wildlife Area, WashingtonSource: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
This week’s reports
When people report snow geese
30,491 research grade snow and Ross’s goose records from the United States over ten years, by the month they were made, August first. Most are logged in December; the rose bar is October. A record is a person’s photograph confirmed by others, so the bars count sightings rather than birds.
5,191 research grade snow and Ross’s goose reports from the United States in the twelve months to October 14, 2026.
Reading this month’s reports from iNaturalist.
Which white goose
Snow goose, Ross’s goose or blue morph
Look at the bill first. A snow goose’s pink bill has a dark “grinning patch” along it; a Ross’s goose is smaller, about the size of a mallard, with a shorter, stubbier bill and little or no grin; a blue morph is a snow goose with a dark body and a white face.
Snow goose
An adult snow goose at Forsythe. Look at the bill: long and pink with a dark line along the edge. “Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens), Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Atlantic County, New Jersey”, Judy Gallagher, CC BY 2.0
The pink bill has a dark line along it, often called a "grinning patch" or "black lips."
The short pink bill is often marked with grayish caruncles at the base. The base of the bill is vertical instead of curved, and the grin patch is quite reduced in comparison to the large black grin patch shown by Snow Goose.
A mixed flock with blue morphs, the dark birds with white heads. They are the same species as the white birds around them. “AnserCaerulescensBlue1”, Cephas, CC BY-SA 3.0
You may also see dark morph Snow Geese, or "Blue Geese," with a white face, dark brown body, and white under the tail.
A spring season for snow and Ross’s geese, held after the regular waterfowl seasons close, to bring down populations grown large enough to damage their Arctic nesting grounds. The next to open on these pages is Louisiana, on December 7, 2026.
A conservation order is a special management action that is needed to control certain wildlife populations when traditional management programs are unsuccessful in preventing overabundance of the population.
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives and Records Administration), read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
Scientists and managers from across North America agree that some populations of light geese have become so numerous that their Arctic and sub-Arctic nesting habitats cannot adequately support them.
Populations of this species and Ross’s goose have increased to a historically high level. As a result they are overgrazing their arctic nesting range and degrading large areas of the arctic tundra where other species nest.
The conservation order allows new methods of taking light geese, allows shooting hours for light geese to end one-half hour after sunset, and imposes no daily bag limits for light geese inside or outside the migratory bird hunting season frameworks as described in this section.
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives and Records Administration), read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
The term light geese refers collectively to greater and lesser snow geese and Ross's geese.
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives and Records Administration), read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
Control activities may be conducted only when all waterfowl (including light goose) and crane hunting seasons, excluding falconry, are closed.
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives and Records Administration), read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
The Conservation Order has been suspended for 2027 after agreement from the eight participating hunt states, Quebec and Ontario.
Maryland Department of Natural Resources, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
The states it covers, in the notice’s words: “As of 2026, eight states in the Atlantic Flyway held the Conservation Order including Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.”
Texas ended its order
Texas ended its Light Goose Conservation Order. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission eliminated it in both the eastern and western zones, starting in spring 2025. Snow geese in Texas.
Eliminate the Light Goose Conservation Order from both eastern and western zones due to continuous declines of wintering light geese in Texas.
Dates are the ones each state gives for the season ahead. Check the state’s regulations before you go: permits and zones change.
Why the order exists
In 1996, along a roughly 1,200-mile stretch of coastline along west Hudson Bay and James Bay, scientists estimated that 35 percent of the original habitat had been destroyed, 30 percent had been severely damaged and 35 percent overgrazed.
When plants are removed by geese the soil is exposed and salts in the subsoil layers begin to accumulate at the ground surface, creating a saline environment where regrowth of most plants is virtually impossible.
Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 16 million and rates them 8 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, indicating a species of low conservation concern.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Waterfowl Population Status, 2025 gives each population its own index, in thousands of birds, each from its own survey and year:
Midcontinent Population lesser snow geese: 7,993 thousand (2023)
Western Arctic Population lesser snow geese: 1,007 thousand (2025)
Wrangel Island Population lesser snow geese: 87 thousand (2023)
Greater snow geese: 428 thousand (2025)
Ross's geese: 3,409 thousand (2023)
State by state
Snow geese in 27 states, and where they are in October
Each of these states has a duck migration page with the ducks and geese its refuges and wildlife areas hold through the fall and winter.
AlabamaIn winter, snow geese are often seen at Limestone Bay on Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge; Alabama's winter waterfowl are on the duck migration page.Duck migration in Alabama
ArizonaAt Cibola National Wildlife Refuge on the Colorado River, wildlife crops are grown as winter food for Canada and snow geese; Arizona's waterfowl are on the duck migration page.Duck migration in Arizona
IndianaIndiana's snow geese gather mostly in the southwest, around Gibson County and Goose Pond; its waterfowl are on the duck migration page.Duck migration in Indiana
KentuckyKentucky's snow geese winter in the far west, on hunting areas such as Ballard WMA, where the state counted 94,065 on February 6, 2026; Kentucky's waterfowl are on the duck migration page.Duck migration in Kentucky
MinnesotaSnow geese cross Minnesota in spring mostly west of a line from Mankato to Fergus Falls; its waterfowl are on the duck migration page.Duck migration in Minnesota
MississippiLight geese winter in large concentrations across the Mississippi Delta, by the state's own aerial surveys; Mississippi's waterfowl are on the duck migration page.Duck migration in Mississippi
North DakotaLight geese pass through North Dakota each spring and fall, and the 2026 spring conservation order ran statewide; North Dakota's waterfowl are on the duck migration page.Duck migration in North Dakota
OhioSmall flocks of migrant snow geese often stop over at Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area in the fall; Ohio's waterfowl are on the duck migration page.Duck migration in Ohio
South CarolinaSnow geese are unusual winter visitors to South Carolina, seen most often along the coast; its winter waterfowl are on the duck migration page.Duck migration in South Carolina
WyomingLight geese cross Wyoming's eastern plains in modest numbers each spring (hunters took an estimated 558 in 2026); Wyoming's waterfowl are on the duck migration page.Duck migration in Wyoming
South from October to December, north from February to April. The first flocks reach California, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and New Mexico and more in fall. They winter in California, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico and North Carolina and more. In spring they stage in Alaska, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, New York and Oregon and more on the way north. Each state page has the months each site’s manager gives for snow geese.
Dead Creek in Vermont (peak October and November), Sacramento Refuge in California (peak November and December), Bombay Hook in Delaware (peak November), Edwin B. Forsythe Refuge in New Jersey (peak November and December) and Chincoteague in Virginia (peak November and December). The map on this page shows every site for the month you pick.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology: "A diminutive version of the familiar Snow Goose, Ross’s Goose is also white with black wingtips but has a shorter neck and stubbier bill." Cornell Lab of Ornithology: "The pink bill has a dark line along it, often called a "grinning patch" or "black lips.""
A snow goose in its dark plumage, the blue morph. Cornell Lab of Ornithology: "You may also see dark morph Snow Geese, or "Blue Geese," with a white face, dark brown body, and white under the tail."
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives and Records Administration): "A conservation order is a special management action that is needed to control certain wildlife populations when traditional management programs are unsuccessful in preventing overabundance of the population." Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives and Records Administration): "The conservation order allows new methods of taking light geese, allows shooting hours for light geese to end one-half hour after sunset, and imposes no daily bag limits for light geese inside or outside the migratory bird hunting season frameworks as described in this section." 11 of the states on these pages give spring order dates. Texas ended its order, starting in spring 2025. The order is suspended for 2027 in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Virginia: "The Conservation Order has been suspended for 2027 after agreement from the eight participating hunt states, Quebec and Ontario."
Cornell Lab of Ornithology: "Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 16 million and rates them 8 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, indicating a species of low conservation concern." The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Waterfowl Population Status, 2025 gives each population its own index, in thousands of birds: Midcontinent Population lesser snow geese 7,993 (2023), Western Arctic Population lesser snow geese 1,007 (2025), Wrangel Island Population lesser snow geese 87 (2023), Greater snow geese 428 (2025) and Ross's geese 3,409 (2023).
Festival of the Cranes in New Mexico, December 2 to 5, 2026; Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyway in California, January 28 to 31, 2027; Snow Goose Festival in Washington, February 27, 2027. The dates are the organizers' own.
From the refuges and state wildlife agencies that manage each site, quoted and linked beside every fact and read between October 13 and 14, 2026. The month curves and this week's reports are iNaturalist research grade records, 5,191 of them in the last twelve months.
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Snow geese by state
A flock rising off a field at a staging point, photographed by the Fish and Wildlife Service. “Flushed- Snow Geese (17011754701)”, USFWS Mountain-Prairie (Krista Lundgren, USFWS), CC BY 2.0
Every site, month, peak, count, festival and order date on this page is quoted from and linked to the refuge, state agency or organizer that published it, read between October 13 and 14, 2026. Tour routes and viewing areas close for weather, hunts and work, so check the site’s own page before you drive. The month curve and the reports are iNaturalist research grade records of snow and Ross’s geese (30,491 in ten years), which count sightings, not birds.
