Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Surprise Visitors at Coulon Park – Snowbirds!
This week at Coulon Park I found two visitors among the Canada Geese. I believe they’re Snow Geese, perhaps blown off course while heading south for the winter. Or maybe they decided to relocate to Renton where temperatures are (relatively) mild year-round. 
I’d never seen them at the park before, so it was a treat to see these two. But I saw them in great numbers in the Skagit Valley when I went up to visit the daffodil fields.
There I found thousands of snowbirds – including trumpeter swans and snow geese. They come from the Arctic, as far away as Wrangel Island in Russia, to the fertile farmlands of the Skagit Valley. Some spend the winter here, while others continue on their way, further south to California.
What a sight to behold! A reminder that I need to make the trek north again, hopefully this winter!
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
They look like snow geese. They always stop in Ladner BC, just north of the border, for a few days before heading further south. Amazing to see them in mass.
Thank you for confirming. I thought they were snow geese, but I’d never seen them at Coulon Park before. I hope to get up to the Skagit Valley again this winter to see them in mass! They really are marvelous.
So many beautiful bird photos, Susanne! I love the snow geese, so attractive. ❤️
Thanks so much! I was surprised to see those 2 in a local park, and it reminded me of their congregating in the Skagit Valley.
A great find! ☺️
I’m fascinated by the birds, how they seem to accept each other, and live peacefully side by side. Love all the pics. Hugs, C
Thanks so much. 😊The snow geese seemed to fit right in with the canada geese, especially for having just dropped by.
How cool to see the snow geese, Susanne! When we lived in Sacramento, we traveled north to some of the bird sanctuaries and would see thousands of these–a lot like the ones in the pics you shared. Hopefully, they will head on to Sacramento soon!
Thanks, Terri! Aren’t they wonderful? Will your travels take you through Sacramento over the holidays? I hope to visit the Skagit Valley this winter to see them again, this time closer up with my Lumix.
My flight from Spokane lays over in Sacramento both there and back–maybe I can see the birds from the air if not cloudy 🙂
Beautiful photos – I especially like the daffodil fields!
Thank you! The Skagit Valley is awesome with overwintering snowbirds, daffodils in March,
and tulips in April!
Amazing
I reckon they saw all the Canda Geese below, and thought “That looks like a nice spot, and it will save us some flying”. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
Yes, a nice place to stop for a bite to eat! 😊
Sorry about the typo on *Canada*
Isn’t that funny? I didn’t even notice it! 🙂 🙂
We get all kinds of Canada geese in central Illinois, but I don’t think I’ve seen any snow geese here.
The best place to see them here is at the Skagit Valley an hour or so north of Seattle. Seeing these 2 at the park was a surprise and a treat!
I love seeing all birds! Beautiful snow geese.
Those little snow geese are so cute! Never seen one. We have quite a few different species of geese and ducks at Randall Park but not that one.
These aren’t regulars. They just stopped by on their way south for the winter. They’re welcome any time! 😊😊
Oddly we had around a thousand here where they never stopped to stay any length or time previously. I think it is due to mild temperatures this winter and lack of ice on the water. It is down to a few hundred now, with many in the area, but not all going to the same bodies of water.
I love seeing them. These two hung around a while then continued on their journey. 😊
They are great to see. I was lucky to see a big group for the first time on Sunday. A few hundred, not as big as some other areas get, but we have not had a large group before. I love how they circle several times before they land.