How to Watch Geese in the Fall

In the fall, most geese migrate south to their wintering grounds. Familiarizing yourself with migration patterns and habitats will make it easy to find where geese rest and feed.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Binoculars
• Binoculars
• Maps
• Maps
• Spotting Scopes
• Wide-angle Lens
• telephoto or "long lens"
• Camera Monopods
• Digital Cameras
• Children's Cameras
• SLR Camera

1. Learn to recognize the pattern of flying geese, usually a V formation that may contain 1,000 geese or more. There is often a great deal of honking associated with flocks of geese.

2. Explore the migration patterns of geese. Most geese breed in the Arctic and move south for the winter, stopping along the way to feed and rest.

3. Find the wintering grounds of geese by looking at your field guide. Most geese winter in the middle and southern portions of the country, and by late fall can be found on wildlife refuges within their wintering areas.

4. Visit areas where geese congregate during migration. Cheyenne Bottoms in Kansas, Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama, and the Klamath Basin's wildlife refuges in Oregon and California are among the good places to see geese in fall and winter.

5. Contact your local Audubon chapter or bird club if you have questions about where to find geese.

Tips & Warnings

• The Canada Goose lives in the upper two-thirds of the United States year-round, and spreads to the south during the winter.
• The primary food for geese in fall is waste grain, which they glean from fields along their migration route.
• To help with identification, learn the difference between swans, ducks and geese in flight.