Wednesday, December 08, 2010

A spectacle in black and white, brown and blue

The promise of hundreds upon hundreds of Snow Geese drew me to Forsythe NWR this past weekend...

Their handsome white or shades of gray in the blue sky, the black wing feathers, pinkish bills and feet...

All delightful against the winter browns of the salt marsh.

It's difficult to watch any one, as there are so many flying across the marsh from one impoundment to the next...

An Eagle on the horizon doesn't cause the expected panic among them; they sit tight instead and travel across the marsh en masse, at their leisure and to my delight.

*The coastal marshes of NJ are a significant wintering ground for Snow Geese; their numbers will grow into the (hundreds?) of thousands before our waters freeze and they're forced further south to warmer climes. I'm glad for the spectacle of them, here, now.

: )

5 comments:

Wren nests in... said...

Yummy photos... Almost as nice as having been there in person! ;o) You can even just make out the crowd in the marsh in that first shot.

Love the one looking to see what it's passing by as it follows the flock. *lol*

RG said...

Here in the Skagit Flats we also have hundreds of thousands of the snow geese. Ours come from Wrangall Island and they are almost overpopulated there now.

They are hunted here because they are becoming an agricultural nuisance although the attraction for folks from all around is great!

They will be able to stay here until their return in the spring.

A big flock taking off is sure something to see, eh?

Dave said...

I love that third photo!

Caroline said...

I like the one of the goose looking groundward, I wonder what he saw.
We saw lots of snows when we went to Minnesota for Thanksgiving, browsing in the harvested fields.

Mike B. said...

Great visuals- there's a place near us here in Oregon where the snow geese spend some time in large numbers. Your photos are motivating me to get out there. Thanks!