Snow geese taking off into the sunrise against the setting moon

JohnDCJohnDC Registered Users Posts: 379 Major grins
edited February 1, 2011 in Wildlife
Dawn lift-off of snow geese at the Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge as the moon sets in the west.
1170302193_o3WNC-XL-1.jpg

Comments

  • LindiweLindiwe Registered Users Posts: 606 Major grins
    edited January 30, 2011
    Amazing image!
    Thanks for sharing!
    thumb.gif
  • oldovaloldoval Registered Users Posts: 456 Major grins
    edited January 30, 2011
    Wow, beautifull!
    Nate
    http://nathanwiley.smugmug.com/
  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited January 31, 2011
    Lovely capture John.

    On the comp, that empty space on frame right makes it feel a bit "off balance". I would fool around with different crops to see how they work out.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
  • kdogkdog Administrators Posts: 11,681 moderator
    edited January 31, 2011
    Excellent shot, John! I always wanted to get one like that. How's the bird population down there this winter? I was out that way in the fall and it was dead. Maybe I'm due for another run out there.
    Moderator of Landscapes forum
    Link to my Smugmug site
  • Awais YaqubAwais Yaqub Registered Users Posts: 10,572 Major grins
    edited January 31, 2011
    This is so amazing view, wonderful.
    Thine is the beauty of light; mine is the song of fire. Thy beauty exalts the heart; my song inspires the soul. Allama Iqbal

    My Gallery
  • Ric GrupeRic Grupe Registered Users Posts: 9,522 Major grins
    edited January 31, 2011
    Unique and satisfying shot. :D

    A dark vignette might enhance it.
  • JohnDCJohnDC Registered Users Posts: 379 Major grins
    edited January 31, 2011
    kdog wrote: »
    Excellent shot, John! I always wanted to get one like that. How's the bird population down there this winter? I was out that way in the fall and it was dead. Maybe I'm due for another run out there.

    Thanks, Joel.
    This is my first trip to the NWR in more than a year. It was a circus. Another hunt club has been set up next to the refuge. Using a vast array of decoys, including ones with mechanized flying geese on poles, hunters shoot down snow geese lured from the refuge while the birders watch. A military helicopter buzzed the refuge, flushing every bird I could see from the feeding fields. Maybe this is all related to the goose count being down to 2,000 this year from 2,700 last year....
  • kdogkdog Administrators Posts: 11,681 moderator
    edited January 31, 2011
    eek7.gif


    Oh, that isn't good at all. :(:
    Moderator of Landscapes forum
    Link to my Smugmug site
  • Osprey WhispererOsprey Whisperer Registered Users Posts: 3,803 Major grins
    edited January 31, 2011
    Nicely done John. Mooning geese..hmmm
    Mike McCarthy

    "Osprey Whisperer"

    OspreyWhisperer.com
  • JohnDCJohnDC Registered Users Posts: 379 Major grins
    edited February 1, 2011
    CORRECTION on numbers
    JohnDC wrote: »
    Thanks, Joel.
    This is my first trip to the NWR in more than a year. It was a circus. Another hunt club has been set up next to the refuge. Using a vast array of decoys, including ones with mechanized flying geese on poles, hunters shoot down snow geese lured from the refuge while the birders watch. A military helicopter buzzed the refuge, flushing every bird I could see from the feeding fields. Maybe this is all related to the goose count being down to 2,000 this year from 2,700 last year....

    This morning I woke up thinking did I write numbers in the thousands or tens of thousands? The reported numbers of snow geese in the refuge are 20,000 this year vs 27,000 last year. (Both numbers are from refuge biologists I talked with. The refuge biologist I talked with this year said they will check to see if the 7,000 decrease corresponds to higher numbers in the refuges in California's Central Valley.)
  • raptorcaptorraptorcaptor Registered Users Posts: 3,968 Major grins
    edited February 1, 2011
    Nice one, John! clap.gif
    Glenn

    My website | NANPA Member
  • JohnDCJohnDC Registered Users Posts: 379 Major grins
    edited February 1, 2011
    raptorcaptor wrote: »
    Nice one, John! clap.gif

    Thanks, Glenn. I just retired as of this month, so I finally have time to take photos again. Do you have any plans to return to Southern California, or is it Florida forever?
    --John
  • SeefutlungSeefutlung Registered Users Posts: 2,781 Major grins
    edited February 1, 2011
    wow .. (not a loud wow, but a low almost a whisper wow...)

    Gary
    My snaps can be found here:
    Unsharp at any Speed
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