'On The Waterfront"

“I coulda been a contender” but instead, I’m photographing wildlife … on the waterfront.

For those too young to remember, “On The Waterfront” won 8 Academy Awards in 1954 including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress. Those words were spoken by Marlon Brando, Best Actor. One of my all time favorite films. Enough nostalgia !

I spend as much time as I can photographing wildlife near or on water. This past weekend, I spent two days chasing down huge flocks of Snow Geese. Although both days were bright and sunny, I was disappointed with my results. I’ve got a lot to learn about white balance and taking photos of white subjects in bright sunlight. But here are a few photos I’ve salvaged out of the many Snow Geese photos I took. They will soon be departing for points farther north.

Photo #1 ….. This sight was quite common. A photograph does not do the actual experience any justice. It is an awesome sight !!!

Photo #2 .... A few low flying Snow Geese trying to find a landing spot.

Photo #3 .... "Okay, squeeze a little lighter, I'm coming in."

Photo #4 ..... a tagged (neck collar) Snow Goose - PF40. I'm in the process of trying to get some background on this goose. The Fed people have told me that it is a non-federal tag and provided me with another phone number to report the bird.

Photo #5 ..... A number of blue morph adult Snow Geese in this photo.

Photo #6 .... Another landing Snow Goose. The sun was shining through his open wings. I was shooting toward the sun for most of these photos.

Photo #7 .... I did see other waterfowl. Here's a small flock of Canada Geese.

Photo #8 ..... More Snow Geese coming in for a landing.

Photo #9 ..... a small flock of Northern Pintails flying low over the water ....

I have never seen Snow Geese. It had to be a real neat experience to find a tagged Snow Goose. Thank you for sharing your photos.

Photo #10 .... another single landing Snow Goose ....... last one for tonight !

Quite a sight Linth!!!!

Awesome shots Linth!! Love the Snow Goose with the sun shining through it's wings!!

Amazing.

I'm not sure I like the idea of a neck tag. seems dangerous to me. But I suppose the experts know what they are doing. I see that there's a leg band there too.

Linth, great pictures of the snow geese. I have seen them from bus window on a trip south of Klamath Lake, but never got a picture. Hope you get an answer on identity of the collared goose.

Donna

Nice series Lith. I'm always surprised to see Snow Geese, so pure white, in pictures from down south. When they arrive here the heads are rusty orange-brown color, died by red algae some where along the migration route.

Wonderful series Linth!

Beautiful birds. Let us know if you hear about the tagged one please.

Very nice pictures. I see our Canada geese come in like that in the spring and it is too amazing for words. (sometimes the swans come in for the night to rest on their flight though and there will be thousands) So I kind of know what you mean.

I see a few geese banded on the necks and it does not seem to bother them at all. Neck banding is good, because the goose can be seen and tracked while alive. The bands must be quite soft.

Great pictures. I have tried to capture the chaos many times here, and have not had any success. I think your pictures really show what is going on.

I think you are doing great in your effort to photograph white subjects in bright sunlight and the action is just terrific! I remember so well several years ago when high winds forced hundreds if not thousands of Snow and Canada Geese into our new field of winter wheat. We had a large farm pond in that field and the geese stayed overnight and wiped out the winter wheat. We still talk about it and the awesome experience (and replanting the field, LOL)!!

I can't pick a favorite here as they are all awesome but #7,8 & 9 really pop for me. Well done Linth...looking forward to more!

Thanks everyone for the comments. A humorous thing occurred while I was photographing the Snow Geese on Sunday. I was parked along the road and had my camera and tripod set up behind the car. A gentleman was taking a walk and as he passed by he said hello and proceeded down the road. Shortly thereafter I noticed a Red Fox coming out of the weeds onto the road. Actually the weeds were in the same field as the Snow Geese. He stood there and peered at the man and actually started walking toward him but then stopped and laid down for a short period. The man never knew the fox was behind him.

THAT is a great photo charlie!

I love photos like that that tell a story.

Thanks, Mrs Ed. By the way, I didn't notice the leg band on the Snow Goose before you mentioned it.

Here is the fox laying down, still watching the man. He eventually moved on but several minutes later a second Red Fox came out of the weeds and followed the same path as the first one.

I know this is a bird thread but ....... here is a photo of the second fox in the bright sunlight.

Back to the birds ..... here's a few Snow Geese flying overhead ......

Another photo with a neck-collared Snow Goose but I couldn't make out the entire number.

Is there room for me ??? Note how alert the ones are on the ground. Snow Geese tend to keep their distance so all of these photos were taken at 500mm.

Fantastic photos, every one is really pretty. That Fox sure is a gorgeous critter too.

Yes the Red Fox is adorable; thanks for including him!

All those geese is an amazing sight.

Great photos of a great day.

Oh wonderful, you could get a fox in there, what a great plus, that must of been. Love all the geese pics.

No doubt the fox was hoping for a goose dinner . . .

Amazing pictures of the fox. Pretty brave to be so close to humans like that.

More wonderful pictures. I can almost hear the noise of the flock.

We had to train ourselves to be careful looking at the flocks of birds overhead. You tend to look in awe. This leaves the mouth open agape. Not a good idea when hundreds of large birds are flying over.

LOL!

Thanks again everyone. Resin, you could be right. They apparently preferred Canada Goose to Snow Goose because they passed by the Snow Geese, crossed the road and entered into another marsh area where I saw several small flocks of Canada Geese take off after their entry.

cpartschick, I know what you mean but the camera hopefully shields my mouth against any re-entries back to earth. Hopefully !!!

I took so many photos because I couldn't help myself. It will take me forever to look at each one. Somewhere in the flock there has to be a Ross's Goose but I'm not sure I would be able to tell the difference. On Monday, I went to a local lake where a Ross's Goose was sighted with some Snow Geese. It apparently left the night before. I saw some photos of it but I really couldn't tell any difference.

Here's a couple Snow Geese in almost perfect formation.

That's beautiful!

A male 'Northern Pintail' ......

So… you're going back to COUNT those Snow Geese this weekend, right? ;-)

Mrs_Ed, I still count them in my sleep. Suppose I send you all 1,000 photos and you can count them in your spare time ...... I am a photoholic. I am a photoholic !!!! And, there is no REAL cure ......

A female 'Northern Pintail' ......

Although not rare, the sight of White Pelicans in Maryland is unexpected. I saw this small flock of three Sunday afternoon,
some distance from the shoreline.

I always find the Tundra Swans quite impressive in flight , especially against the blue sky. I saw quite a few but not nearly the number of Snow or Canada Geese.