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| Sunrise at Middle Creel Lake |
Most
recent posts have been devoted to Pennsylvania elk, with the issues
concerning the new viewing areas on Winslow Hill and documentation of
elk rut activity during a two week trip in late September being the main
subjects..
With the end of that trip my attention
shifted to wildlife closer to home, which mostly involved keeping a
close eye on the local deer herd, but I took a break from this for
several days when I visited Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area from
the afternoon of Saturday, October 10 until late morning on the 14th.
for several days of filming and photographing the waterfowl and other
wildlife that may be found there.
A favorite way to
start a day at Middle Creek is to photograph the sunrise from the area
where Hopeland Road passes close to the lake. The sunrise was
especially fiery and vivid on the last day of the trip, which is the one
featured at the beginning of the post, while the one on Monday was not
as vivid due to a heavy fog, but was just as dramatic in its' own way,
if not more so.
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| Foggy Morning Sunrise |
I saw several species of ducks such as
Mallards,Coot, Pintails, Grebes, Black ducks, and Ring-necked ducks,
but they were there in limited numbers and mostly far enough away that I
did not photograph them, but filmed them with the video camera instead
as it gives more satisfactory results at long range. The most commonly
seen species by far was the Canada Geese.
A modest flock of them could be seen most mornings and evenings where Hopeland Road passes along the lake.
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| Morning At Middle Creek |
Great Blue Herons were seen in this area, as well as a few Great Egrets.
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| Great Blue Heron Watching For Fish |
The
pothole across Hopeland Road from the lake is also an excellent spot
and it was here that I got a few photos of the Great Egrets and of
Canada Geese landing.
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| Great Egret |
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| Canada Goose Landing |
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| Great Egret Looking For Fish |
Although this trip lacked the intensity of the
spring migration with the vast numbers of Snow Geese that make such
spectacular sights, it was nonetheless a very rewarding experience.
Originally published at
Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.
