Sacramento Refuge, Gray Lodge, Sonny Bono Salton Sea Refuge and Lower Klamath: when each site’s manager says snow geese are there and the peak, the festival and directions to each.
The months and peaks are each site manager’s own, quoted and linked below with the day they were read.
White geese (Snow and Ross's) begin to appear in October as fall migration kicks in to full swing.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
duck and goose numbers peak on the Complex in November and December.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
WINTER: ducks, snow geese, ibis, deer, swansCalifornia Department of Fish and Wildlife, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
Some of the showiest (and noisiest) species you’ll see are the large flocks of sandhill cranes and snow geese. An intensive farming program at the refuge provides nutritious forage for more than 30,000 wintering geese; the fields of ryegrass and wheat also support other birds and wildlife.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
It is predominantly a spring and fall migrant, especially abundant in large wetland and agricultural complexes such as Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Silvies River floodplain in Harney County, Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and Klamath Wildlife Area.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
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.
Snow geese gather at Sacramento Refuge and Gray Lodge.
Walk the Refuge trails in late fall and you’ll notice emerald-green fields of ryegrass. They are part of a farming program to provide suitable forage for tens of thousands of overwintering snow geese and other migratory birds and wildlife.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
White geese (Snow and Ross's) begin to appear in October as fall migration kicks in to full swing.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
Many shorebird species start returning in August, but migration peaks when waterfowl touch down in November. That’s when you’ll start to see Northern shovelers and ruddy ducks dabbling and diving on the ponds and snow geese nibbling on grass in the refuge fields.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
More reports come in January than in any other month. The bars combine every year on record; the twelve month figure runs from October 14, 2025.
1,310 research grade snow and Ross’s goose reports from California in the twelve months to October 14, 2026.
Reading this month’s reports from iNaturalist.
January 28 to 31, 2027
Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge
Every fact about California’s snow geese links to the refuge, agency or festival page it comes from, read on October 13, 2026. Tour routes and viewing areas close for weather, hunts and work, so check the site’s own page before you drive. Report tallies are iNaturalist research grade records of snow and Ross’s geese, which count sightings, not birds. Every state is on the snow goose migration hub.