Subject: Snow Geese
Date: Jan 14 19:48:51 2004
From: Eugene Kridler - kridler at olypen.com


Judy:

When I was the refuge biologist stationed at the Klamath Basin Complex
of national wildlife refuges in 1955-56, I would see many thousands of
Snow Geese. Among the first words my baby son said were geese, geese,
geese as large flocks would fly over the biologist's house on the
refuge. Later in the fall and early winter when the waters at Tule Lake
would freeze over, the geese would fly down into the Central Valley of
California, especially the Sacramento Valley where they wintered. I was
stationed at the Sacramento Valley Complex from 1956-60. We would make
weekly aerial censuses of ducks and geese. I have aerial photos taken
during one midwinter waterfowl count of 65,000 Snow Geese on one flooded
rice field at the Colusa unit. Many thousands were present on other
units. Incidentally, I have composite aerial photos of 1.5 million ducks
on 560 acres called the Bean Patch. We counted ducks on the photos using
binocular microscopes and electric pencils under a sampling method.
we used to make special Ross Goose aerial censuses in the San Joaquin
Valley in February and would come with a few thousand more of that
species.
I was staioned at the Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge (now called
Sonny Bono Refuge as assistant manager fron 1952-53, and we had lots of
Snow Geese there, especially on the Sea itself, but nowhere near the
numbers found in the Sacramento Valley.
Yup, the sure make a lot of racket, don't they? A plane flying overhead
tends to make them get up with a deafening noise. All species, Snows,
Canadas, White-fronts, Cacklers, Ross etc. Ahh, memories, memories.

Gene Kridler
Old Broken Down Retired Wildlife Biologist/Administrator