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  • A snowy owl as seen during the 2011-2012 winter irruption. These magnificent owls only wander as far south as Washington state every few years or so.
  • A snowy owl as seen during the 2011-2012 winter irruption. These magnificent owls only wander as far south as Washington state every few years or so.
  • Trumpeter swans in Washington’s Skagit River Valley. Thousands of both trumpeter and tundra swans come to northwestern Washington each winter, where their big white bodies are easy to spot.
  • Trumpeter swans fly past Mount Baker in Washington state. These swans are North America’s largest native waterfowl. Can you spot the one with the tracking collar around its neck?
  • Snow Geese – and a few ducks – seen at the Conservancy’s freshly-restored Port Susan Bay Preserve in November 2012.
  • Every year, tens of thousands of snow geese make their way to the lowland winter refuges of Washington’s Skagit River, British Columbia’s Fraser River and California’s Central Valley.
  • A white tailed-ptarmigan in Mount Rainier National Park. These birds live high in Washington’s mountains year-round. They are pure white in winter, but streaked brown and gray in the summer.
  • A ptarmigan chick crawling over heather in the alpine country of Mount Rainier National Park, summer 2012.
The Nature Conservancy
Winter’s White Wings