Illinois Department of Natural Resources, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
On the map
Illinois snow goose sites by month
Style
Layers
Peak in OctoberSnow geese in OctoberAnother part of the yeariNaturalist reports in October
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.
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Through the year
When snow geese are in Illinois
Snow geese gather at Horseshoe Lake and Union County.
The snow goose is a common migrant and a common winter resident statewide in Illinois.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
TOTALS 1,420 89,350 17,280 505 1,791 5,247
Illinois Department of Natural Resources, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
Spring migration begins in late January and February.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
When people report them
More reports come in March than in any other month. The bars combine every year on record; the twelve month figure runs from October 14, 2025.
782 research grade snow and Ross’s goose records from Illinois over ten years, by the month they were made, August first. Most are logged in March; the rose bar is October. A record is a person’s photograph confirmed by others, so the bars count sightings rather than birds.
117 research grade snow and Ross’s goose reports from Illinois in the twelve months to October 14, 2026.
Reading this month’s reports from iNaturalist.
The spring order
The light goose conservation order in Illinois
Opens January 27, 2027, in 105 days.
North Zone: January 27 to April 30, 2027
Central Zone: February 1 to April 30, 2027
South Zone: February 1 to April 30, 2027
Light Geese (Snow/Blue/Ross' Geese) 27 Jan - 30 Apr 2027 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset Unlimited Unlimited
Illinois Department of Natural Resources, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
Check the state’s own regulations before you go: permits, zones and dates are the agency’s to set.
Illinois snow goose questions
Horseshoe Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area and Union County State Fish and Wildlife Area. Every site links its source and a map search for directions.
In the words of the source: "The snow goose is a common migrant and a common winter resident statewide in Illinois."
Yes. The order runs North Zone, January 27 to April 30, 2027; Central Zone, February 1 to April 30, 2027; South Zone, February 1 to April 30, 2027. Illinois Department of Natural Resources: "Light Geese (Snow/Blue/Ross' Geese) 27 Jan - 30 Apr 2027 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset Unlimited Unlimited"
iNaturalist holds 782 research grade snow and Ross's goose records from Illinois over the last ten years, 117 of them in the twelve months to October 14, 2026, and more are logged in March than in any other month. They count people's sightings, not birds.
By size and bill. 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."
Snow geese on the marsh at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey, early in the day. “Snow Geese at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (50863160056)”, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region (Keena Graham, USFWS), Public domain
Every fact about Illinois’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.
