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The 2023 spring snow goose migration is early this year - normally there would not be activity like this at Middle Creek for another 4 weeks or so. Due to the warmer-than-usual weather this winter, it is presumed that they settled nearer to the Midatlantic coastal region than usual, and we are currently observing some of the early returns. Next stop is likely the Finger Lakes region and then on.
Current bird count is ~80,000 on Middle Creek Lake. At sunrise, as the birds warm themselves and prepare to feed, they peel off the water in large groups -- I would guess around 10-20,000 in the first waves. It is a thunderous event, as they launch out of the water within just a few seconds together. Most go out to the nearby fields for feeding, some settle back in the water and go later. This iterative process continues until the lake is largely empty of geese; they return at sunset to roost on the lake.
More information the migration, and a live lake cam, can be accessed here for the curious: https://www.pgc.pa.gov/InformationR...lifeManagementArea/Pages/MigrationUpdate.aspx
Hope you enjoy! I just used some Apple Photos magic to get the exposure and contrast about right, not a whole lot of tinkering in this set.
Funny story... the autofocus on my D500 seems to magically be working again... haven't touched it in months, and instinctively started back-button focusing on some near and distant subjects with my 17-55mm DX lens, and it was tracking as quickly as ever. It was consistently back-focusing with that lens, so I have to check if I ever calibrated that body/lens combination, and possibly redo the lens cal...
Current bird count is ~80,000 on Middle Creek Lake. At sunrise, as the birds warm themselves and prepare to feed, they peel off the water in large groups -- I would guess around 10-20,000 in the first waves. It is a thunderous event, as they launch out of the water within just a few seconds together. Most go out to the nearby fields for feeding, some settle back in the water and go later. This iterative process continues until the lake is largely empty of geese; they return at sunset to roost on the lake.
More information the migration, and a live lake cam, can be accessed here for the curious: https://www.pgc.pa.gov/InformationR...lifeManagementArea/Pages/MigrationUpdate.aspx
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Sunrise flight.
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Gliding back down to the water en masse.
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Takeoff.
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"A roof of birds."
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Community outreach.Hope you enjoy! I just used some Apple Photos magic to get the exposure and contrast about right, not a whole lot of tinkering in this set.
Funny story... the autofocus on my D500 seems to magically be working again... haven't touched it in months, and instinctively started back-button focusing on some near and distant subjects with my 17-55mm DX lens, and it was tracking as quickly as ever. It was consistently back-focusing with that lens, so I have to check if I ever calibrated that body/lens combination, and possibly redo the lens cal...
