This was a much better day for the Snow Geese — better than my last visit to Snow Goose Central. Hunting season is done, and all of the goose shooting on Fir Island is now camera-only.

I started off at this field with one other photographer, and by the time I left, there were six of us, plus a load of SUVs [illegally] lined up on the road shoulder for photo ops.

We were waiting for the geese to do a big fly-over but they were extraordinarily calm for Snow Geese. In my two hours at the field, they burst into the air just once as a Navy jet buzzed Fir Island and startled the flock. Otherwise, they grazed their way to within meters of where we were standing, with a backdrop of blue sky and Mt. Baker Snow.

GooseORama

I stitched together this panorama from six photos. I had six additional photos shot to the right of this group, and five to the left. So, what you see here amounts to about a third of the geese present in this area. There were more geese in a farther field behind this flock.

Click on the image for a larger size of this panorama, then click again for the full-sized photo.

Snow Goose Flock

Snow Goose Central - ©ingridtaylar

Snow Geese in Flight

Snow Goose Flyby - ©ingridtaylar

Flight - ©ingridtaylar

Snow Geese and Mt. Baker

Snow Geese + Mt. Baker - ©ingridtaylar

Snow Geese Landing

Calling + Landing - ©ingridtaylar

Great Blue Heron and Snow Geese

The Visitor - ©ingridtaylar