Snow geese on Skagit Flats
— — the field that lifts off the ground all at once.
Not only on a wall.
“Every winter, tens of thousands of snow geese drop into the Skagit Flats from Wrangel Island, Russia. They feed in the fallow fields of Fir Island and the Skagit Wildlife Area between Mount Vernon and the bay. From a distance the flock reads as a long white drift on green stubble. When something startles them, the whole field rises at once and the sound carries for a mile. from the studio
Snow geese on Skagit Flats, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
The Skagit Flats are the delta of the Skagit River, where the river spreads into Skagit Bay and Padilla Bay about sixty miles north of Seattle. Fir Island, between the river's north and south forks, and the surrounding Skagit Wildlife Area are managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The flats are diked agricultural land — potato, tulip, and seed crops in summer — and a critical wintering ground for waterfowl on the Pacific Flyway from October through March.
The wintering flock of lesser snow geese on the Skagit and Fraser deltas is the Wrangel Island population, which breeds on Wrangel Island in the Russian Arctic. Birds arrive on the flats from mid-October, peak through December and January, and head north again by late March. Recent winter counts have ranged from roughly 50,000 to over 100,000 birds across the Skagit-Fraser region. The best viewing windows are early morning and the hour before sunset, when flocks shift between roost and feeding fields.
The Fir Island Farm Reserve, off Maupin Road, is the most reliable single overlook for the geese, with a short trail to a viewing platform. Headquarters Unit, off Wylie Road, has parking and dike walks. A Discover Pass is required on Washington state wildlife areas. Bring a spotting scope or binoculars, stay on the dikes, and keep distance — flushing the flock burns the energy the birds need to make the return flight to Wrangel Island in spring.