Hi Nancy and Tweeters,

Yes, the Snow Goose in the photo (link below) is a dark morph Snow Goose or Blue Goose. As noted, the overall coloration of the bird is quite dark, darker than juvenile light morph Snows. We can see several signs of immaturity in the plumage, indicating this is a first-cycle bird that hatched last summer. The brownish, scaly-like feathers on the belly are juvenal plumage, the first feathers grown after natal down. Throughout the winter immature geese replace their juvenal plumage with a more adult-like plumage. This bird has not replaced much juvenal plumage on its belly, but we can see the next generation of feathers coming in on the sides/flank, neck, some on the back, and white in head.

This photo illustrates the contrast between worn juvenal (brownish) and fresh feathers (darker blue) quite well. Being able to recognize these differences in feather generation allows one to age the geese. In general, adult geese replace all their feathers before they come to the wintering grounds. So, a bird with two generations of feathers is most likely a first year bird. Ageing geese can come in handy when separating various subspecies of Cackling and Canada Goose and Brant.

Nice photo, thanks for sharing! http://www.nancywagnerphotography.com/bluegoose.html

Cheers,
Jessie Barry
Seattle, WA