Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts
Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens)
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| Snow Goose [lateral view of white morph adult]. Photograph Credit: Stephen J. Stedman; Dillon Pond, Overton County, Tennessee; 1 April 2017. |
Abundance: Uncommon November through March, Very Uncommon October, and Very Uncommon to Rare April and May; records in 19 Regional counties, 6 in Kentucky and 13 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population wintering in the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).
Status: Winter Resident; Photograph (see above).
Regional High Count: 130 (31 October 2006; Barren River Reservoir; Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky; David L. Roemer); CBC/CBB High Count: 4 (28 December 2010; White County, Tennessee [CBC]; Stephen J. Stedman).
Regional Extreme Dates:
Early Fall: 22 October 1992 (Putnam County, Tennessee; Barbara H. Stedman).
Late Spring: 26 May 1999 (Putnam County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman).
Note: Regional dates of earliest reported fall arrival and latest reported spring departure for winters from 2002–2003 through 2011–2012 follow:
| Winter of... | Early Fall Arrival Date | Late Spring Departure Date |
| 2002–2003 | 23 November | 21 March |
| 2003–2004 | 14 November | 30 March |
| 2004–2005 | -- | 22 May |
| 2005–2006 | -- | -- |
| 2006–2007 | 31 October | -- |
| 2007–2008 | 10 November | 25 March |
| 2008–2009 | 2 November | -- |
| 2009–2010 | 25 October | -- |
| 2010–2011 | 9 November | 3 April |
| 2011–2012 | -- |
Habitat: Open fields; small to large lakes.
YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.
Remarks: Often associates with Canada Geese; rarely, migrates with flocks of Sandhill Cranes.
The blue and white morphs are about equally abundant; the rare intermediate morph has been noted once (Warren County, Tennessee).
Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR
Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.
| Barren | Metcalfe | Adair | Russell | Pulaski |
| Monroe | Cumberland | Clinton | Wayne | McCreary |
| Macon | Clay | Pickett | Fentress | Scott |
| Smith | Jackson | Overton | Putnam | Morgan |
| DeKalb | White | Cumberland | ||
| Warren | Van Buren | Bledsoe |
Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR
Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.
Literature Cited
