Migrating Geese - in January?

Yesterday, while driving from Central Oregon to Portland, Oregon, I saw a large flock of geese (approx 300) flying over a field. They were flying in a confused manner - some were in the "V" shape formation, others were flying in circles. After about 60 seconds, as I was passing them they all began to land in the middle of the field. Since it's January in Oregon, there isn't anything growing in the field and it's cut down, so it was quite a strange site seeing geese land on a field.

This morning, in a suburb outside of Portland, Oregon, I awoke to the familiar honking sound of what sounded like hundreds of migrating geese.

I just wanted to put this out there, as it seems so strange that geese would be migrating in January. One side of me is relating this to all the talk about magnetic reversal, bird die offs, The Core, etc. Another side of me wants to think this is related to the slightly warmer rain system ("Pineapple Express") coming through Oregon these last few days.

But I'm leaning towards pole shift as I thought geese migrated based on day length, not daily temperature fluctuations.

Anybody else in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. see strange bird behavior?

I saw a similar thing in Idaho but I hadn't really paid much attention to it before. The geese were flying in all different directions like they didn't know which way to go but I as I said I never paid much attention to it before or saw them fly so disoriented. Then again, I don't know if these geese actually even leave for the winter. I think its mild enough for them not to. I was gonna look it up but haven't yet. I think were far enough into the winter where it seems almost pointless to leave if they've been here this long already. Then again, I haven't spoke to a goose about it either

I too have seen lots of geese lately. Sometimes at night I hear them when i take my dogs out. The geese I have noticed have been flying in the eastern direction.

I don't know that much about geese...do they come out in winter? Maybe two months ago I saw decoy geese in fields but I know nothing about hunting and when they hunt for them..

I live on a river in the country, northeast US. We have oodles of Canadian geese, and over the years many more have wintered over here. I also see them flying in V shapes, up and down the river (north and south).

They hang out in the frozen river, honk at all hours, fly off and come back. They've been doing this for years. For many geese, the northern United States IS south.

Its not something to panic about. Geese do this. They fly to different areas for food, water and nesting. Now, if you ONLY saw them flying in one direction, this might be cause for concern. From the looks of things posted here, its pretty normal goose behavior, even for the winter.

FYI:
These geese are migratory, but in many residential areas with plenty of food, water and shelter, they are becoming quite resident.

www.wbu.com...

And:

It is most famous for its "v" like formation in flocks when migrating in Spring and Fall. Today, especially along the east coast of North America, they are sometimes seen as pests. Their migrating behavior has changed, with a large number of birds becoming sedentary, remaining in a certain area of plentiful food for their lifetime.

www.helium.com...

Both links are about Canadian Geese, but there are loads of articles about geese in general, many with this same information.

Many geese dont migrate at all now because of their interactions with humans and safer landscapes they are able to reside in many places for all 4 seasons perhaps only moving between local food sources.

I'd be very interested if we saw thousands of reports in regards to abnormal goose migrations.

I'll keep my eyes open and ask around.


-G

reply to post by ns9504

Well that's good to hear - maybe it isn't as abnormal then as I initially thought. Perhaps it's just me paying closer attention to the wildlife. Still strange though.

WoW, I'm in southern Cali and havent seen anything kool like that yet down here