March 6, 2011 - White Wave
Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

As the Susquehanna River and local lakes shed their winter coat of ice, it is prime time for a white wave to descend on them. As winter fades, snow geese begin moving home. These white geese sporting black wing tips breed in the Arctic tundra. Their annual round-trip of over 5,000 miles follows traditional migration routes taking them through our area. Snow geese put on quite a show for observers. They are fidgety birds. They circle several times when landing, dipping down and then swirling up again, white wings flashing in the sun. Even after they settle down, one goose might burst into flight, starting a chain reaction that ripples through hundreds to thousands of birds. Snow geese might stay a day or two or a week or more before this white wave bids us farewell and continues north.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.