Snow Goose/Blue Goose

Sumas Prairie

Tuesday Feb 16 2021

A large flock of Snow Geese have spent the winter on Abbotsford's Sumas Prairie. A rare occurrence local birders tell me. The winter rye planted by farmers and other left over crops are a good food source for swans, geese and ducks. There are also plenty of fallow fields for the birds to turn over, if the pickings are that good why haven't the Geese been regular visitors in the past? A mystery indeed, if they return next year there may be factors at work that are not yet fully understood. Normally Snow Geese spend their winters in the Skagit Valley and places further south to California. Lesser but increasing numbers winter on the coast around Boundary Bay. 

*Since I published this blog 30 minutes ago it has been brought to my attention by someone who knows more about the subject that there have been a few Snow Geese on the prairie since around 2000 but not in the large numbers seen this year. I stand corrected.

On Tuesday I came across a large flock of perhaps 800-1000 birds. At first they were out of reach for photographs so I just stayed in my car and used my bins to see if there was anything interesting in the flock. The first series of images all turned out as if they had been shot through a mirage. Later I read that it was due due to the heat emanating from the car itself, something I didn't realize until I began editing. Fortunately pictures taken twenty minutes later were sharper as the car had had time to cool down. 

 Eventually as the flock munched their way toward me (a car is the perfect blind) the flock suddenly lifted off the ground and came even closer, close enough to take a few pictures. Had I got out of the car I'm sure I would have flushed the whole flock.

They soon landed back on the same field. 

They were now close enough to study and soon two darker birds stood out, One very dark overall and one an intermediate morph. What a treat to see those birds, it made my day.

 

 "Blue Goose" 

I believe this an intermediate dark morph. I might be proven wrong..let me know.

Dark morph "Blue Goose" #2

It's hard to believe that a century ago only three thousand Snow Geese were left in North American. They almost followed the Passenger Pigeon on the path to extinction. Like the Trumpeter Swan Snow Geese have made a remarkable comeback. The Passenger Pigeon weren't so fortunate. see the link for the whole sordid story.

More on the Passenger Pigeon

These days, so great are Snow Goose numbers that their breeding grounds in the arctic have become threatened, not only from climate change but from the birds themselves. At least they are tolerated on Sumas Prairie, unlike parts of the US and Canada where hunting up to forty-thousand birds a year is permitted. Meanwhile, enjoy the spectacle, soon they embark on their migratory journey up north.

"It's never too late to morph into something better"
John Gordon
Langley/Cloverdale 
BC Canada

Self-assignment (Better flight shots)

Nov 10, 2012 Delta B.C
Sometimes we are slaves to our thinking and that certainly relates to how we sometimes use our gear and approach our subject matter.
I had visited 104th St in Delta to photograph the Tropical kingbird with the idea of getting a few decent flight shots. My previous tripod mounted efforts left much to be desired.
For me, hand holding a heavy and somewhat cumbersome 500 F4 for long periods of time is no easy task. Even the best autofocus systems can have difficulty keeping up with the erratic swooping up and down motion of a bird that is 'hawking' insects.
Waiting for the Kingbird to leave its perch took a great deal of concentration, it meant holding the camera to the eye for several minutes at a time.
In this case a good method to steady a handheld camera is to place both arms against the ribs (forming a tripod) and squeeze the camera body while pressing the shutter button, this technique keeps the lens steady leaving the photographer to concentrate of the flight path of the bird.
With this approach I was able to capture a number in-focus shots, a far higher success rate that was achieved using a Gimbal head and tripod.
I hope this helps your photography, I was certainly helped me achieve my self-assigned project.

A Mixed Bag

Oct 25th 2012 Mixed cloud and sun.
 Iona Regional Park Richmond B.C.
With family commitments put away and the weather forecast predicting a dry and sunny day I set off for Iona Regional Park in Richmond. Driving up to the parking lot five Western meadowlarks could be seen eagerly searching for food. These prairie birds seem to feel quite at home on the sand that has been deposited here over the millennium. Meadowlarks are most noticeable when they perch in the few bushes which have sprouted up along the beach, however they do spend most of their time scurrying around in the long grass, ever wary of the northern harrier and other raptors looking for a meal.
As per usual I met number of really interesting birders and photographers, exchanging niceties about lens length etc (a male obsession), bird lore and the latest sightings.. it beats working!
 My favourite shot of the day was the Goldfinch (below) which was taken half-way through once such discussion, it pays to keep attentive!

American goldfinch  

Northern Harrier hunting.

Keeping an eye out for trouble!

Great horned owl (note the white around the throat)

Anyway, after photographing a flock of American goldfinches that were feeding on seed heads the subject of a Great horned owl came up in  conversation. This news sent me scurrying off to the Terra Nova garden allotments in Richmond. A small murder of crows immediately gave away the owls location. The bird has become quite the celebrity, it barely moved as a procession of schools groups and seniors filed to get a good look. It was perched about fifteen feet from the ground where it nonchalantly  viewed all and sundry.
The bird has become quite the hunter dispatching two barn owls over the last few  days. Apparently the Great horned owl doesn't like competition, it has even attacked a gardener!