3/12/2004: Snow Geese

Happy Friday! This is hundreds of snow geese lifting off from a pond at the Klamath Wildlife Area south of Klamath Falls, Ore., a stop on their annual migration.

And with my lack of attention span, it resembles my mind some days.

...coming soon to a recently-washed car near you.

It just looks like a pile of bleached chicken bones to me, or almost like one of those Magic Eye images. I'm still looking for the real 3d image.

an excellent example of a telephoto lens compressing an image

Where's Waldo?

I think I see waldo in the top left hand corner...
Seriously...this is a neat photo

I give this pic a thumbs up!!!

Damn one got in my living room!

find waldo

this is like those 3d magic pics...it took me a little bit less than the 60 seconds they recommend, but i finally began to see him....pretty cool. I found it helped to get real close to the monitor, and slowly pull back.

find waldo

Bang Bang

They better watch out for this guy!

I'm with glatt, i'm guessing a 300mm+

"This is hundreds of snow geese lifting off "

Actually, more like several thousand. Unlike other typical geese that migrate across the USA like Canada, Brant and White Fronted (Specklebelly) geese which prefer small groups, Snow geese are attracted to large groups. My area of Texas is home to about 70% of the Central Flyway (the rest being mostly east of here in Louisiana and other Gulf states) and the vast majority of geese wintering here are Snow and Blue Geese, a color phase of the white Snow goose.

If you have never been near a huge roost of birds as they "wake up" in the early morning, it is hard to imagine. As the sun breaks over the horizon, small groups start breaking off, heading out to the fields to eat (geese typically roost on ponds of water or the adjoining flats). Then, perhaps triggered by some predator or perception of one or just an animal world alarm clock, they all get up, I mean the whole group in the thousands like in the picture. One wonders how they don't crash into each other. I once shot 2 shots from my 10 guage double barrel shotgun into a group like the one pictured and knocked down 7 birds. The limit here is 20 per day during the regular season and unlimited during the Special Snow Goose Conservation Season, when electronic calling devices may be used as well.

They often go into a large spiral flight pattern, circling around the lift off point as they gain altitude. As they fly towards you the noise can be deafening, as they turn to fly away, they go almost silent. Truly, quite inspiring.

The huge increase in their numbers over the years is partly due to increased agricultural activity in their migration routes, i.e. they are eating better during the cold and wet winter months. The problem is their numbers have surpassed the viability of the land resources in the Artic where they spend their summers, on the tundra. That is why the daily limits are so high, they are virtually destroying the tundra which takes years to re-grow.

I recommend "Winged Migration" as a movie for anyone interested in seeing lots of birds in flight.

This is really close to me as I live in Clackamas Oregon. I have geese & ducks out in my pool. Fun to look at. Cat loves chittering at em.

Hey, daniwong. where the hell have you been?