Wild Goose Chase
April 2026 Lake Look
Just when you think that winter will never end, delicate signs of spring begin to speckle the Lake Champlain region. One early harbinger of the season is migratory geese in flight, their elegant V-formations contrasting with the blunt honks that overlap in a cacophonous symphony.
In the final lines of her 1986 poem “Wild Geese,” poet Mary Oliver wrote of these calls as "[…] harsh and exciting – / over and over announcing your place / in the family of things." Oliver’s geese evoke a human connection with the natural world. For those roused to a muddy spring walk by their persistent trumpeting, they also raise the question: what exactly is a goose’s place in the "family of things"?
According to Hank Kaestner, Lake Champlain Committee (LCC) member and avid birder boasting a "life list" of over 8,000 species from around the world, there are several different subspecies of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) in this region. The different subspecies can be found in two distinct populations. Transient populations migrate between Canada and central and southern North America, with stops along Lake Champlain. Resident populations make the Lake Champlain basin their home for breeding and rearing goslings.
Lake Champlain’s resident Canada geese mostly descend from 44 birds who were released in 1956 by the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife at the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Addison. While hard to imagine now given how often we see Canada geese in habitats ranging from rural fields to urban parks, these birds were scarce in the early 20th century due to overhunting, egg collecting, and wetland development. Feral flocks were introduced in places like Dead Creek to restore populations.
The reintroduction effort became a victim of its own success, as populations grew rapidly. Helped by a landscape changing from grasslands and forests to lawns and golf courses, there are now more than five million breeding Canada geese in North America. While resident geese can sometimes be viewed as nuisances, the seasonal return of migratory flocks in March and April offers a different perspective, with V-formations overhead serving as a welcome sign of spring.
Why do geese make a V-formation? According to the Library of Congress, it comes down to energy conservation and group safety. Like cyclists who bike directly behind each other, the formation lets geese “draft,” with each bird flying slightly above the bird in front, helping to reduce wind resistance and easing long distance flights. Canada geese seem loyal to the flock, taking turns leading the V so no individual carries the full burden, and maintaining formation to keep track of every goose in the gaggle.
By contrast, snow geese (Anser caerulescens) fly as a swirling mass of birds, like snowflakes in a blizzard. All snow geese are migrants, traveling thousands of miles from wintering grounds in the southern United States to breeding grounds in the arctic tundra.
Lake Champlain is within the Atlantic Flyway, a major north-south flight path for migratory birds in North America. The lake and its wetlands, as well as our region's abundant farm fields, are like a comfortable traveler's inn for birds making a long journey, including snow geese. But with this year’s freeze-over, open water has been hard to find, resulting in even more circling and honking than usual as geese search for an inviting spot to land.
Hank recalled when snow geese flocked in the tens of thousands around Dead Creek WMA as they flew north for the summer. It was an ideal spot for birders on a "wild goose chase" who wanted a "gander" at the vast flocks. While large flocks still stop here, their numbers are no longer close to the nearly 20,000 recorded at the WMA decades ago.
Snow goose populations are not decreasing–quite the opposite: they went from about 200,000 in 1980 to about 1 million in 2000. The five-fold boom in geese led to damage to their arctic breeding grounds, so governmental hunting incentives were created and have driven populations to around 800,000. This is still a lot of geese, so where are they?
The answer likely lies in what drove the population boom in the first place: agriculture. Snow geese, like Canada geese, love crop fields and the feeding opportunities they provide. Their migration along Lake Champlain seems to have shifted in favor of stops along the western shores of the lake, with larger flocks now stopping near Point Au Roche and taking advantage of the numerous corn fields in New York’s North Country.
As a birder, Hank has found joy in sharing his passions with others by leading birding groups in Charlotte. "Birding can be many different things to many different people, from trying to see all the birds in the world, or just appreciating the birds in your backyard.” We encourage you to get out and try birding as geese and other waterfowl return to our region or stop along the Atlantic Flyway on their way to northerly breeding grounds. You might, like the subject in Mary Oliver's poem, hear geese announcing your place in the family of things.
Thank you to Hank Kaestner for taking LCC staff on a birding excursion and for providing some of the information and inspiration for this Lake Look column!
Lake Look is a monthly natural history column produced by the Lake Champlain Committee (LCC). Formed in 1963, LCC is a bi-state nonprofit that uses science-based advocacy, education, and collaborative action to protect and restore water quality, safeguard natural habitats, foster stewardship, and ensure recreational access. You can join, renew your membership, make a special donation, or volunteer to further our work.