I find that few experiences live up to the hype you hear as an excited friend tells you about something that you just have to see. Most of these stories are exaggerated versions of what truly took place, but 15 years ago, as I made a pre-dawn walk on Willow Point Trail, I was about to learn how the Middle Creek snow goose migration is not one of those types of stories.

In fact, after the years of visiting the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area to see this annual spectacle, I’ve found no combination of long lens, wide lens, photos, timelapse, audio, or video comes close to capturing what it’s like to be there. The audible and visual sensory overload as tens of thousands of birds simultaneously take flight is something you have to see to believe. At times, it can feel like you’re standing in a real-life snow globe surrounded by an inconceivable number of snow geese as they lift off the water.

Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area is located on the border of Pennsylvania’s Lancaster and Lebanon counties. Created by the Pennsylvania Game Commission in the 1970s, Middle Creek features a 400-acre lake surrounded by nearly 6,000 acres of wetlands, forests, and fields. Between late February and early March, snow geese, tundra swans, and Canada geese use Middle Creek as a pit stop on their long migration route to northern Canada.

Before departing on their journey past Middle Creek, the geese overwinter on the Atlantic Coastal Plain, including the Chesapeake Bay. It is not uncommon to find flocks of 100,000 snow geese on the Bay’s eastern and western shores; however, wintering waterfowl on the Chesapeake is not limited to snow geese. Nearly one million waterfowl like redheads, bufflehead, canvasback, surf scooters, gadwalls, etc., winter on the Bay. This equates to approximately one-third of the Atlantic coast migratory population.

In addition to the migration, Middle Creek visitors can catch a glimpse of a range of other waterfowl, including tundra swans, black ducks, green-winged teal, northern pintails, buffleheads, loons, mergansers, and wood ducks. If you miss the migration, there’s always an opportunity to see some of Middle Creek’s resident Canada geese, belted kingfishers, American kestrels, red-tailed hawks, bald eagles, white-tailed deer, red fox, eastern coyotes.

Green-winged teal

Middle Creek is a magical place. It’s a beautiful working example of what happens when conservation, education, and stewardship come together. I originally traveled to Middle Creek after hearing tales of it sounding like a jet engine as 100,000 snow geese take flight at sunrise. I had big expectations, and the reality of the situation did not disappoint. Learn more about the snow goose migration at Middle Creek with the first episode of the Alliance’s Animals Upstream series!

It’s impossible to partake in these experiences without feeling the connection to wild creatures and wild places that we all crave, and it isn’t too late to experience this year’s migration!

 

ATTENTION: The United States is currently experiencing a bird flu outbreak. Any visitors to Middle Creek should be aware of the following:

  • Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) may be in wild birds at Middle Creek.
  • In addition to wildlife, domestic animals and humans can be infected with HPAI.
  • Three ways you can protect yourself and reduce the spread of disease:
    • Watch wildlife from a safe distance
    • Avoid contacting bird feces
    • Don’t feed or handle wildlife

For further guidance, please see the Department of Health and Department of Agriculture avian influenza pages.

Learn more about the wildlife of our watershed