If you want to see the snow geese on Padilla Bay head east on Hwy 20 from
Anacortes. As you head downhill past Reservation Road you have a decent
view of the east side of Padilla Bay. Scan for the large flock that is
regularly in the bay.
Also, as you approach the top of the twin bridges over the Swinomish
Channel, start scanning the east side of Padilla Bay. You can regularly
spot a large flock of snow geese in the water. It’s been very easy these
past few sunny days as they appear as a very bright large white area. I
don’t advise the driver to take on the task of looking for the flock!
If you’re lucky, in the evening you can catch them flying east to find a
field for the night.
Happy birding!
On Tue, Jan 20, 2026 at 1:51 PM Martha Jordan via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> They are out there in the Skagit Valley or on the adjacent waters. It
> often depends on the tides: low tide will see them on the mud flats and
> high water will often push them into the fields. They also move around
> depending on the hunting pressure (at least some of the time). And, many
> of them could be up in Canada for the day or more--they do travel back and
> forth between Skagit and Fraser river deltas.
> They are out there, just in lower numbers than in the days 4-5 years ago.
> These Wrangel Island geese once used the Skagit-Frasier Delta to
> over-winter, almost exclusively. Then dairy farms were pushed to leave for
> salmon conservation issues and some re-established in eastern WA. And that
> grew into a shift in use by WI snow geese to the point that we now have
> likely less than 70,000 snow geese in Skagit and about 160,000 in eastern
> WA.
> And a reminder to those on both sides of the mountains: Following the
> end of regular waterfowl season, there is an extended snow goose hunt on
> the following days, but only in certain areas, and only for white geese:
> West Side: Feb 7-15, 2026
> East Side: Feb 21-Mar 8, 2026
> This is a brief explanation. If you want to know more, feel free to
> contact me off list.
>
> Martha Jordan
> Everett, WA
>
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