Snow Geese in a Snow Storm. Winter's Last Gasp?

I thought winter had finally moved on. Most of the snow had melted and I had watched Robins forage on the bare ground and listened to the first Song Sparrows. On the two previous  evenings a Woodcock had sounded his peenting call late into the night.

This morning I decided to take my dog to the West River Trail and check out the Snow Geese that had been reported on the large stubble field next to the river. The sky was overcast. Just as I got into the car the first snow flakes landed on the windshield. I drove off anyway. When I arrived the flakes were coming down more heavily. Still I could see the Snow Geese, along with some Canada Geese,  foraging on some dung piles on the field. But soon visibility decreased and taking photos became more difficult. When I got home I decided the shots were pretty worthless unless I used some filters  to bring out the details.

The geese were mostly adult whites with a couple of immatures mixed in, distinguished by the gray feathers on their back and a darker beak.

The spring migration north is much more protracted than the one in the fall, when geese gather at a staging area to fly south. Here is a link to a post I did on the fall migration two years ago.

Here also is a link to the Woodcock's courting song and flight which I recorded last March along with a link to photos of his courting ritual showing him slowly turning in a circle while peenting in every direction.

Visit World Bird Wednesday at The Pine River Review to see many more photos of birds from around the world!