Back in mid March we stopped at Fair Haven State Park here in New York. While there were not many birds out on Lake Ontario the pond was speckled with a few ducks, mute swans, sea gulls and a lot of your typical Canadian geese. Some would come and land others would go and then suddenly the sky erupted with Canadian Geese as you see above. The ice was breaking up in sheets and floating out the channel to Lake Ontario where they were crushed into small bits by the incoming waves. The geese were resting or floating on these ice sheets. As the ice sheets floated towards the channel the geese would line up and waddle off into the water one by one. It was quite interesting to watch. Our next migration destination was the ever popular Montezuma Wildlife Refuge. I saw an article online about thousands of Snow Geese gathering there. It was still March and the wildlife drive was closed until April first, which is normal. However, there are other sections of the refuge that you can still reach. The Knox Marcellus area being one them and this is where we saw thousands of Snow Geese, Tundra Swans, Sea Gulls, Canada Geese and a few ducks. You have a view from an overlook here and that is it. I suggest super powered binoculars or a really big lens. I often felt I couldn't get close enough even with my 400 mm lens. A large group of Tundra swans flew over our heads, which was exciting. The skies and foreground would erupt in a flurry of white from time to time as birds came and went or chose a different spot to rest and or feed. From Knox Marcellus we continued north on rte 89. We came to some flooded farm fields filled with ducks, snow geese and Tundra Swans all on posted property of course. I took a few shots of the Tundra Swans from the window as we drove by. We did find a spot just off the road to capture the giant V-formations of the Snow Geese with their black tipped wings. The sheer numbers of them were astounding! From there we moved on down the road to find a sign pointing to access for the West Shore Tail. Of course we had to check it out! The West Shore Trail led to a picnic area with what I think were some old locks surrounded by water on one side and flooded farm land on the other. We could see another drive between us and the water but couldn't figure out how to get to it. Anyway before we got that far ducks flew by the thousands ahead of us. They settled once we stopped and there were more Tundra Swans there too. We got out of the car stretched our legs took a few shots and started driving slowly back stopping for a few photo ops on the way. We captured a pair of Tundra Swans taking off. As well as thousands of Mallard Ducks. Then three or four Sand Hill Cranes sped by in front of us which I missed. Then I spotted a juvenile Eagle in a tree. I tried to photograph it but they didn't turn out. It flew away, seemed to stop in a tree and then flew off again with a mature Eagle. There was quite a bit of excitement that day. There is a pond behind our dwelling, one day I walked out to discover a pair of Hooded Mergansers hanging out with our local muskrats. Of course I went back inside and grabbed my camera. After a week or two we made our way back to Montezuma in the month of April. This time the wildlife drive was open. All the Snow geese and Tundra swans were gone but the Coots, Northern Shovel ducks, Ring necked ducks ,Ruddy ducks, Grebes and others had returned. Most of our fun was observing the Pie Billed Grebes fish, and a group of Great Blue Herons eat their meals. I made sure we arrived as the sun was rising, the light on the birds was glorious! Be sure to click on these to see them larger! Well, until the next big adventure I hope you enjoy these photos and get time to explore on your own!
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Julie MetottNature Photographer, wife, mother, lover of outdoor adventure! Archives
November 2022
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