A Long Way From the Sea

I heard that Daniel Boone was once asked if he had ever been lost.  "No Sir" he said, "but I was a mite confused once for a month or two".  The sea gulls I saw at Fontenelle Forest this morning (March 15) appeared to be a "mite confused" - they were over 1000 miles from the nearest ocean.  Closer observation revealed that they were Ring-billed Gulls migrating from the Gulf of Mexico to many northern inland locations.

The wetlands have thawed enough to attract migrating waterfowl.  These two Canada geese were perched in the trunk of a tree that was 25 feet off the ground.  I don't know if they were the same couple that nested there last year.  It may be a safe place to build a nest but the first step out will be a problem for their goslings.  

Several migrating American Goldfinches have arrived for the summer.  This male is still wearing its winter plumage.  In a few weeks, it will change to its golden yellow feathers.

 I enjoy photographing American Tree Sparrows because they are such a challenge.  This one was on a constant move in a tangled mess of brush.   Notice how similar its colors are to its habitat.  The Spot Focus on my Canon camera usually wanted to focus on a branch instead of a sparrow. 

Warm Winter Weather

There were a couple signs of approaching Spring at the Fontenelle Forest Wetlands today.  A flock of geese was flying north and our freezing weather was replaced with a 60 degree high.  The trails turned into a layer of mud but the lake was still completely frozen.

A Red-Tailed Hawk patrolled the sky overhead looking for lunch but wasn't having any luck.

Several kinds of woodpeckers were looking for insects that survived the cold winter.  This Red-Bellied Woodpecker landed in a near-by tree.

I watched this Red-headed woodpecker for quite a while but it didn't get very close.  It was moving from tree to tree with a regular pattern.  It didn't seem to be looking for food.  I think that it was looking for a mate.

The American Tree Sparrow was a challenge to photograph.  It stayed in a bush with hundreds of branches.  It was hard to get a clear view as it rapidly moved from branch to branch.

The stream was mostly ice covered.  I haven't figured out exactly what has happening at the edge of the ice.  The ice was white and water was running under it.  At the edge, portions of the ice turned black and then back to white.  At first, I thought it was trapped air that was moving under the ice.   After watching for a while, I think that it was some form of life, moving up to the edge of the ice.  It could have been fish, a turtle or just the hypnotic nature of running water.

A Million Goose Opportunity

The Omaha World Herald reported that one million Snow Geese were visiting Squaw Creek NWR in Missouri.  Mid-February is usually very cold in the Midwest so the shallow water at Squaw Creek in normally completely frozen.  I didn't want to miss this opportunity.

Photographers cannot get very close to the geese.  The only road open to the public runs around the perimeter.  The geese stay in the middle so they are never very close.  The one way road around the geese is ten miles long.   If you leave your position for a better view, you need to travel all the way around to get back if you were wrong.  

It is extremely difficult to take a photo that captures the noise and chaos when a million geese take flight.  The chaos is three dimensional so it's also impossible to get the entire group in sharp focus with a telephoto lens.  The truth is that they are more fun to watch than to photograph.

It's difficult to fly next to a million panicked  geese.  Occasionally an unfortunate goose tumbles out of the sky.  In the fall, Bald eagles join the migration to enjoy the goose dinners.   There were a few eagles present, but not many compared to the fall.  I did spot a Northern Harrier checking out a carcass.  When I moved my lens to photograph it, it immediately took off.

I was pleased to find Trumpeter Swans much closer to shore than the geese.  They are huge and need a long runway to take off.  I've seen the Snow Geese many times but I've never seen this many swans before.   I spent the majority of my day photographing them. 

While I watched the swans, several American Tree Sparrows were in the weeds between me and the water.  They were a challenge to photograph because they spent most of their time out of the view of my lens.