It's only been about a month since winter officially arrived, but it's been a strange one thus far in the Lehigh Valley.

It appeared we would be inundated with snow by now when 5.17 inches of wet snow fell Thanksgiving eve and the Farmer's Almanac was predicting a winter to rival the one we experienced last year.

The snowfall total was only 6.5 inches when I sat down to craft this January column. This total pales in comparison to the 20.9 inches of snow by this time last year.

A wet mix of about .5 inches fell in our yard Jan. 3 and then much like the ending lyrics from the Dan Fogelberg song, "Same Old Lang Syne," "the snow turned into rain."

Unfortunately, for those who enjoy winter sports, this weather trend of snow turning to rain happens much too often here in the Lehigh Valley. Our latitude location lies at a level where our winter weather continues to fluctuate between above freezing and below freezing temperatures.

I was fooled for a moment recently driving home from a doctor's appointment when I noticed what appeared to be a totally white farm field in the distance to the right side of the road.

As a photographer and hunter, I often make rapid glances to my left and right with the hope of spotting something that will develop into a possible photo opportunity or at least an interesting observation. Many of my best nature photos are the result of one of those quick observations from my vehicle.

Since I knew the mass of white could not be snow, I figured the snow geese were back in town. I made a detour from my regular route home to observe and photograph the large flock.

The flock was spread out, covering what I estimated to be an uneven area of about six football fields. There were thousands of snow geese feeding on loose corn that had been missed by the farmer's harvesting equipment. I pulled onto the shoulder of the road and turned off the engine to get a better view.

My dog Blue was with me. Each time a small group of geese took flight it motivated him into barking mode. I'm certain Blue hoped I would open the back door so he could send the entire massive flock into the air. I finally hoodwinked him into silence with a few biscuit pieces and many "good boy" comments. When he finally grew tired of the snow-like scene and reclined on the back seat (a dog's short attention span), I opened my window, steadied my Olympus E-510 digital camera on the door's window ledge and focused for some snow geese photos.

Smaller flocks took flight and moved up and then left and right in unison as if they were all attached by invisible fishing lines. Each small flock was like a high school marching band practiced field maneuvers over and over again for an upcoming competition. After a short flight, the smaller flocks circled back to almost the exact locations where they had been feeding, thus forming one enormous single assemblage once again.

I continued to watch when suddenly about 80 percent of the flock took off in a mass explosion of wings, resembling an enormous cloud rising from the field filling the dark blue sky with white.

Snow geese are a North American species. There are two distinct snow geese subspecies: the greater snow goose and lesser snow goose. They breed in the far north Canadian tundra, often migrating through the Lehigh Valley to warmer areas south of Pennsylvania. Their migrations are triggered by length of daylight, the availability of snow-free fields for feeding and open water for resting at night.

Large flocks of greater snow geese are becoming more and more common throughout the Lehigh Valley as they move about from local fields and water sources during the winter months. There are also lesser snow geese and a few Ross's geese found in the large snow geese flocks.

Greater snow geese are predominantly white with black tipped wings. They range in weight from six to eight pounds with the males weighing a bit more than the females. The body length varies from 27- to 35-inches-long with wingspans of about four to five feet. They are strong fliers, reaching speeds of 50 miles per hour during migration. Individual geese change positions during long flights just like bicycle racers who draft behind another cyclist to break through the air.

Snow geese breed on islands in the Arctic north of the timberline in Alaska, Canada and Greenland. They spend the winters in warm parts of North America as far south as Mexico. Snow geese generally mate for life. As with many other birds that mate for life, there is very little difference in appearance between males and females.

The females construct shallow ground nests made from plant material and down feathers plucked from their breast. The female does the incubating while the male stands guard. Three to five creamy white eggs hatch after about 23 days. Goslings can walk, swim and eat a few hours after hatching. Both parents raise the young. They feed on aquatic vegetation, grasses, winter wheat and grains left behind after harvests.

Populations of snow geese are growing so large that they are ruining their breeding range. Canada geese eat plant leaves, but the snow geese tear out the plants by the roots and consume the entire plant. This practice is eliminating the available food in the snow geeses' breeding and feeding areas. In common language, the snow geese are eating themselves out of house and home by destroying their breeding habitat.

Watch for these giant flocks of snow geese during your winter travels.

A great place to see snow geese, tundra swans and many duck species is the 6,254-acre Middle Creek Wildlife Area, Stevens, Lebanon and Lancaster counties, managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission. Check with Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center to find out about the annual guided carpool trip to Middle Creek: stateparks. com/Jacobsburg.html.

If you are interested in seeing bald eagles contact me about my annual bald eagle carpool tour to northeast Pennsylvania and southern New York scheduled for Feb. 8.

That's the way I see it!

To schedule programs, hikes and birthday parties: 610-767-4043; comments: bbbcole@enter.net

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&Copy; 2015 Bud Cole