Saturday, March 20, 2010

A Morning At Middle Creek

Early morning, March 19th found Coy Hill of Country Captures and I headed down the Pennsylvania Turnpike for Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area. There we met my daughter Amy of Ashe's Eye. The goal was to photograph the large flocks of snow geese and tundra swans that are usually in the area at this time of year, but unfortunately the main migration had moved on.

My favorite spot to begin a Middle Creek photo shoot, is where Kleinfeltersville  Road passes by the edge of the lake.  This affords a good view of the lake and a chance for dramatic photo opportunities as the sun rises. 

Middle Creek Lake-Before Sunrise
I concentrated on filming the scenery and the waterfowl as the sun came up, so I did not capture the actual moment of sunrise with still photos.  It is especially spectacular when large numbers of waterfowl, which have spent the night on the water, leave in vast flocks to feed in the surrounding fields, but this did not happen today as not enough birds were present.

Canada Geese And Other Waterfowl
Even though the large numbers of snow geese had moved on there were other species present, and the weather was superb, which made the day another outstanding experience in the great outdoors.

 Canada Geese

For more Camera Critters photographs, click Here!




Original content posted at  http://pawildlifephotographer.blogspot.com/ If this content appears elsewhere without proper accreditation, it is stolen content.

27 comments:

Dina said...

Thanks for conveying the calm and the magic moments of sunrise here.

~✽Mumsy✽~ said...

Just gorgeous photos! They are a joy to see..

A Garden of Threads said...

Peaceful sunrises. Thanks for sharing.

Michael said...

Wow. The light is gorgeous. Nice pics.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Willard: Neat look at the lake on fire, thanks for the great wildlife photos.

Chubskulit Rose said...

Love the last shot!

My Camera Critters post, have a nice Saturday morning.

i beati said...

wish I was there..sandy

Lina Gustina said...

Stunning....
So peacefully :)


http://thehappyfamilies.blogspot.com/2010/03/camera-critters-who-spied-on-me.html

wenn said...

wow, so magnificent!

Adrienne Zwart said...

Gorgeous shots, Willard!

Jane Hards Photography said...

Amazing photography. I hope those birds fly before the blog theives get themm

Misty DawnS said...

Beautiful images!!! I saw the Snow Geese here in Missouri the first year we were here, but I haven't seen them since. Is there a way to tell of their migration pattern each year?

I'm off to check out your daughter's site. If she's anything like you and Coy, then I'll instantly be a fan!

imac said...

Wonderful Post and pics Willard.

Snap said...

Just magical ... sunrise, the geese in flight. Thanks and happy critter day!

Tom said...

Wish I could have there there with all 3 of you... beautiful posting once again Willard.

Carolyn Ford said...

Definitely worth getting up very early for! These are amazing scenes...so sorry for the photo stealing you are dealing with...what a sham!

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

Two very beautiful shots.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

These are stunning pictures Willard!! Sunrise and sunset pictures always catch my eye as the colors are amazing and it has to be the best times in a day.

Rajesh said...

Wow! marvelous shots. Wonderful morning sunrise shot.

ms426d said...

Willard, as I just told Coy, your blog set up is amazing! (as are the shots) Shows the images at their best. I am going to try to become a regular blogger again, stop by any time.

Willard said...

In response to Misty's question, the snow geese migration usually occurs in late February and early March in our area, but I often miss seeing it at Middle Creek as the weather, or other commitments often interferes and by the time it is suitable, the peak migration has moved on. In this case about a week earlier would have been ideal.

Dale Forbes said...

stunning photos!

Dale
http://alpinebirds.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

wow. what peaceful scenes and then the eruption of geese on the fly. Nice photos Willard.

Brad Myers said...

Willard, love the new look. The bigger photos realy pop out at you. I guess I missed the peak migration this year at Middle Creek.

I got to meet Ken Conger last week in Florida by accident while shooting birds. It was a great time and I think I got lots of keepers.

I will be dropping you a message soon, I have a few qquestions. Brad

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

I had made up my mind not to follow any more blogs,but,when I took some time to look at your work,I knew that I had no choice.The pictures are excellent.If I don't comment each time it is only because of time limits.I do have other things to do than sit at the computer. :)

Tim Rucci said...

Gotta love that early morning light, Willard. It's amazing how much difference it makes in photos. Great stuff you posted!

Anonymous said...

You mentioned butterflies in thistles, Willard, and I always used to go down the bike trail and spend a long time in a patch of Canada Thistles taking pictures of butterflies and bees and flies of all kinds. That one plant attracts more insects than anything I have here.

Thanks for your visit.