The lesser snow geese (anser c.caerulescens) come in two distinct colors. The adult grayish colored goose is called the blue goose. These birds have white heads and upper necks with slate-grey bodies, and varying amounts of white on their bellies. Their wings are pearl gray, with black tips. The white adults are white, except for black wing tips.

Both the blue and white phases have pink bills, with black "grin patches" and rose-red legs and feet. The immature blue geese are almost entirely dark gray, with a white chin spot. Their legs, feet and bill are grayish-brown. The young white geese are a sooty gray with a whitish belly and bill. Their legs and feet also are grayish brown. The two different colored snow geese were once thought to be two separate species.

However, since the white and blue birds nest together and interbreed, taxonomists have determined that the blue goose is simply a color phase of the snow goose.

The snow goose, which migrates through DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge in the spring and fall, is the most abundant of the world's wild geese. During the fall migration snow goose populations at DeSoto will usually peak at between 420.000 to 500.000 birds. The spring migration will usually be less concentrated and less spectacular than than in the fall.

The snow goose, which includes the blue phase or "blue goose", is a medium sized goose with an average length of 27 to 31 inches and height of 28 to 29 inches. Average weight is between 4 to 6 1/2 pounds. The wing span is 17 to 18 inches. Snow geese breed in the Arctic from Alaska to Greenland sometimes arriving before the snow has left the land. One vital colony is along the McConnell River delta along the west coast of Hudson Bay. Several more colonies are located on Baffin Island in Canada. Pairing occurs among two year olds, probably on the breeding grounds.

Although snow geese reach sexual maturity at two years of age, the majority do not breed until their third year. Snow geese have very strong family ties and apparently mate for life.

Snow geese usually locate their nesting colonies, consisting of several thousand birds, on low grassy tundra plains within several miles of open water. The nests are built-up scrapes requiring several years to reach final form. As each egg is added the female adds more down from her breast to line the nest. An average clutch size is 4 - 6 eggs, with incubation lasting 22 or 23 days.

The male goose guards the nest from predators and other snow geese. He defends the nest by charging intruders with wings and neck outstretched and calling defiantly. The female is in charge of all the incubation of the eggs. She will leave her eggs only briefly to feed in the early stages of incubation. In the later stages she will seldom, if at all, leave the eggs. Due to their devotion, most females lose 25% of their body weight during nesting.

By the time the young hatch, the tundra grasses and sedges are about 6 inches tall and there are miles of perennial flowers in bloom. These plants and larvae provide most of the food for the young goslings. With the abundance of food and the long daylight hours the young grow rapidly. The goslings weigh 2.5 ounces when they hatch and 90 days later they will weigh over 5 pounds.

Prior to the fall migration, the mature geese go through an annual molt which involves the entire body and wings. As a result, the birds are rendered flightless for a period of about 24 days. The geese regain flight capabilities before or at the same time the goslings begin to fly.

As the Arctic summer winds to a close, the snow geese begin to group up in areas called staging ground. Their southward migration usually begins between August and October. The birds migrate in unusually large flocks of 100 to 1000 which is made up of many family units. The average speed of migratory flights are usually between 40 to 50 MPH. The average altitude is around 3.000 feet, but radar has recorded geese as high as 10,000 feet. The birds fly in imperfect V's or long wavy lines in a peculiar undulating fashion. Although there is always a leader at the head of the formation, the position changes frequently among the flock.

A migrating flock of snow geese will usually begin their trip at sunset and may continue both day and night. Although many geese will stop at rest areas such as DeSoto, some geese will make the entire flight from the breeding grounds to the wintering grounds on the Gulf Coast or Mexico, in one continuous flight. Snow geese have been know to fly as long 70 hours and 1.700 miles in continuous flight.

For the geese that do stop along the way, one of the first places they rest, after leaving Canada, is Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge along with Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge, are located in north-western North Dakota. The birds will spend from several days to many weeks at these refuges, until bad weather drives them on. From this point, the geese will travel to Devils Lake Wetland Management District in east-central North Dakota, and then on to Sand Lake in northern South Dakota. As food becomes scarce and the weather gets increasingly colder, the geese will move further and further south.

The next stopover is DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge. The snow geese begin to arrive at DeSoto in mid October, at the earliest. Their numbers usually build up slowly and the maximum number is on the refuge in mid to late November. Since 1964, when the refuge began counting geese, the average date the peak number of geese occurred was November 19th. The largest concentration of snow geese occurred on November 29, 1989, with 550,000.

The snow geese will stay at DeSoto Refuge for as long as the weather permits. On a typical day the geese will leave DeSoto Lake at or before sunrise. They will either fly onto refuge fields to feed on waste grain or they will leave the refuge to feed. Geese have been followed, up to 250 miles as they search for food. If the geese are feeding close to the refuge they may come back to the refuge around 10:00 am to rest on the lake and leave again around 2:00 pm to feed. At sundown the geese will return to the lake, where they are safe from predators, to spend the night.

When the geese leave DeSoto Refuge, they move on to Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, 150 miles south of DeSoto in northwestern Missouri. From here they will stop at other lakes along the way to their wintering ground along the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisiana.

The snow geese will spend the winter feeding on the rice on the coastal marshes in the region from the Mississippi Delta to Corpus Christi, Texas. The geese also feed heavily on the stubble in the rice fields of Louisania and Texas.

In the spring the snow geese will start back for their arctic breeding grounds. The geese travel north along different paths than in the fall. They also are in more of a rush, tending to bypass stopover areas that they rested at in the fall. Few geese are seen at DeSoto Refuge during the spring migration.