Canada Geese flying

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Canada Geese flying

October 26, 2012 by Mike Powell

A trio of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) paid a short visit today to my local marsh at Huntley Meadows Park. I suspect they are migrating, though I am not sure about that. They announced their arrival loudly and circled around before landing, so I had time to attempt some shots. I don’t have much experience in photographing birds in flight, but had limited success, as you can see in these shots. I could not get all three of them close enough to each other in the frame, so you only see two at a time. In case you wonder, the day was extremely overcast and there was not much sunlight—that is why the sky looks white in some of the photos.

This is the kind of photo that I want to be able to take, so today was good practice for me. I can tell I still need a lot of practice in tracking birds in the air.

Geese in flight at Huntley Meadows Park

Geese circling for a landing

Geese in flight during the fall

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged birds in flight, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park | 8 Comments

8 Responses

on October 26, 2012 at 11:19 pm | Reply Vicki

great job!
- on October 27, 2012 at 6:02 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Vicki.
on October 26, 2012 at 11:59 pm | Reply Jeremy Sell

Nice. I have enough trouble photographing birds when they’re on the ground…even worse when they’re in flight. The only fair one I got thus far was of a frigatebird at Dry Tortugas National Park in April, and even then it’s not very clear: http://thelifeofyourtime.wordpress.com/2012/04/22/dry-tortugas-national-park/
- on October 27, 2012 at 7:55 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. That frigatebird had a pretty impressive wing span. As for birds, I periodically see the folks with special gear who are more expert in that area, huge lens and special tripod mounts that permit really fluid panning.
on October 27, 2012 at 2:03 am | Reply lylekrahn

Geese are not subtle. We get a lot of them around here and it can can really noisy when they gather in flocks to migrate.
on October 27, 2012 at 8:36 am | Reply New Hampshire Gardener

Nice shot. They’re usually gone before I get done fumbling around with the camera.
- on October 27, 2012 at 8:50 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  For me, the biggest challenge was getting my camera to lock on focus when they were flying. Trust me, I have a lot of blurry, out of focus shots and am happy I got a few ok ones.
on October 27, 2012 at 10:19 am | Reply naturesnippets

I’d be more than excited if I took pictures like that.(I don’t have a camera that would.) Geese will stay around. They don’t need open water. Ducks do.