Snow Geese put on one of the most amazing and jaw dropping exhibitions in the wild that, once you’ve seen, you’ll never forget. It is a natural phenomenon that always takes you by surprise even though you’re hoping for and even expecting it. It begins every day, just at sunrise. A flock of thousands of Snow Geese, seemingly without cause, suddenly rises and fills the skies leaving the pond where they spent the night completely empty and the sky dark with wings. The cacaphony of goose sounds becomes deafening. The birds swirl around and around before landing again or flocking elsewhere. The phenomenon happens over and over throughout the day, sometimes more spectacularly than others. This past week we were disappointed that we didn’t witness any huge explosions of birds at Bosque del Apache. We missed several blast offs when we were too slow setting up our gear or pulling on gloves to see, let alone photograph, them. When we’d find a flock of Snow Geese, we’d wait, sometimes seeing minor explosions or just watch small groups peeling off from the main flock, gradually dimishing the numbers so that even if the remaining birds blasted off, the effect would be nothing spectacular.
On Sunday, however, our wait was over. The first of several explosions we experienced that morning, was at sunrise from the pond near the Flight Deck as a sliver of light glowed orange between the horizon and the low cloud cover. The sky filled with birds and the thunder of wings and the roar of their calls filled our ears. It was the first of many we were lucky enough to experience on Sunday. Later, at the cornfield around the loop, we spent more than an hour watching the Snow Geese explode into the air time and time again. What a thrill to see it over and over.
Nikon D5, Nikkor 500mm 5.6 PF lens.
Nikon D500, Nikkor 18-35mm lens
Nikon D5, Nikkor 500mm 5.6 PF lens
Nikon D500, Nikkor 18-35mm lens
