Middle Creek 2018-Part 2

It seemed that most of the Snow Geese were at Willow Point in the mornings and evenings this year. Quite a few people were there on Saturday and Sunday morning in spite of the strong wind and biting cold, but I had no desire to subject myself to that degree of punishment. It was a different story on Monday morning after the wind  mostly died during the night.
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Dawn At Willow Point

A fairly large flock of Snow Geese was there, but they were mostly behind the trees. When they left there were usually trees in the way of getting good photos and as usual I concentrated on taking video so I didn't get many still shots.

Leaving

That afternoon was a different story as a large number of birds gathered to feed in a field near the viewing area at Willow Point while others were on the lake directly in front of it.

Gathering To Feed

Resting On The Lake

Periodically the flock erupted into flight and then settled back down for awhile before taking off again. All the  while smaller sub-flocks were continually arriving and leaving.

Eruption

Leaving

Landing To Feed

Another Take-off

The main attraction of Middle Creek in late winter and early spring may be the awesome sight of the large flocks of Snow Geese, but there are a variety of other subjects to see and photograph as well.The fields along Hopeland Road and a number of smaller ponds are ideal spots to see many  species of waterfowl, birds, and other wildlife.

Whitetail Doe Along Hopeland Road

Mallard Male

It is best to photograph from inside the vehicle if possible as the ducks often shy away if you get out. They usually do not fly, but simply get too far away for good photography.  Even with staying inside it can be hard to get them close enough and powerful lenses and substantial cropping during editing are usually required.

Mallard Female

In addition to the ducks there are usually a few Great Blue Herons hanging around. The shot below is across the big pothole at Stop 1 of the tour route along Hopeland Road.  It was taken with a 150-600mm Sigma Contemporary at 600mm and then cropped to 2 Mega-pixels in Adobe Camera Raw.

Great Blue Heron

Ring-necked Duck-Female

Ring-necked Duck-Male

I also saw other species of ducks in a pothole that is too far from Hopeland Road for close-up still photography so I took video with the GH4 and 500mm Cannon FD lens. Species seen included Northern Pintails, American Wigeon, Green Wing Teal, Gadwall, and Northern Shovelers..

My usual course of action was to check the lake and potholes and then swing through the tour road periodically. I didn't see nearly as much action there as in most years.  I did see an eagle flying once or twice and harriers hovering over the meadows on several occasions,but they were too far to photograph.A Ring-necked Pheasant co-operated one morning and I got several still photos of him.

Ring-necked Pheasant-Male

 There were usually Canad Geese in the fields along the road and I sometimes took a few photos of them.

Canada Geese

It was crystal clear and the wind wasn't blowing On Tuesday morning  when I pulled into the parking lot at Willow Point. I was surprised to see and only one other vehicle was parked there. As I app-roached the viewing area I could hear the chatter of a large number of geese and as it grew light I could see a large flock resting on the lake. To my surprise no one else was at the viewing area.

Dawn At Willow Point On Tuesday

At times the many of the geese lifted-off and circled the area before settling back down, but soon after sunrise many of them left for the morning.

Sunrise Take-off At Willow Point

No One Was There

Leaving To Feed

Canada Geese

I met another person walking to the viewing area as I left, but I never saw anyone from the vehicle that was parked there at dawn. In one way it was good to be alone with nature without people taking and children screaming in excitement, but in another way it made me sad that no one else was there to enjoy the wonderful experience.

I went to Willow Point again that evening. It was so pleasant at the parking lot that I almost didn't put on a heavier sweater, but as I began walking the sun vanished behind the clouds and by the time I got to the viewing area it was overcast and gloomy..  A good number of geese were there, but a strong breeze was gusting off the lake and I was glad I dressed as I did as it was slightly uncomfortable even with the heavier clothing.

Cloudy Evening At Willow Point

Actually you can still see the blue skies to the north, but the sun was gone and even that blue sky soon vanished.  It was snowing next morning. Since the weather forecasters were calling for a major snow storm I did not go to Middle Creek, but the forecast was wrong and there was only light snow with little to no accumulation, so I should have gone that day as well.

With that another trip to Middle Creek was over.  In retrospect it was an enjoyable experience even though I did not film as wide of a variety of wildlife as in the better years.

Thanks so much for reading--I hope you enjoyed the photos and story.

Middle Creek 2018-Part 1

Snow Geese At Willow Point

Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area on the Lebanon/Lancaster County line near Kleinfeltersville, Pennsylvania is a premier spot for birding enthusiasts and outdoor photographers during the spring waterfowl migration. Of special interest is the peak of the Snow Geese and Tundra Swan migration as it is a stunning sight to watch a massive flock of Snow Geese lift off.

This year the peak of the migration was sometime in late February. I usually wait until the tour road opens on March 1st before going to Middle Creek so the peak of the migration was over when I got there on Friday afternoon March 2nd, with an estimated 20,000 Snow Geese, 5,000 Tundra Swans, and 2,000 Canada Geese remaining according to the March 1st estimate.

Tour Road Opened From Dawn-Dusk on March 1st

While the website states the road is closed from dusk until dawn it did not open until after 7:30 on the mornings I was there and one morning it was almost 8:00 until it opened .As you enter the tour road there is a sign that tells  you to tune to 1620 AM for a brief history of Middle Creek and what to expect to see at this time of year.

As one continues along the tour road they find signs encouraging you to  respect the small creatures that may be crossing the road and avoid hitting them.

Middle creek seemed empty of people compared to what I was used to in other years. It was amazing that only a few vehicles were on the tour road in mid-afternoon on March 3rd. This may be because the peak of the migration was past, but it also was likely influenced by the brutal winds that were still blowing after a strong front passed through on Thursday night.

Tour Road-Mid-Afternoon Saturday March 3rd

Things changed a bit shortly after 4:00 p.m. when geese began landing in and along a plot of standing corn, but even then most of the flock landed over the brow of the bank where they could not be seen.

Snow Geese Near Road

I continued around the tour road and returned at 5:00. The late evening sun made dramatic lighting  for photography as some geese arrived while others left.

Snow Geese In Late Evening Sun

Snow Geese Landing

The lighting makes it seem the weather would have been pleasant when these photos were taken, but the wind was so cold and brutal that it was hard to remain out of the vehicle for long. The weather improved over the next few days making it easier to photograph the waterfowl.

In the next post we will look at some photos from Willow Point as well as more taken along the tour road and other areas of Middle Creek.

Middle Creek To Close ?

Recently there has been much ado in the outdoor press about the possible closing of Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, which is located on the Lebanon/Lancaster County line close to Kleinfeltersville, Pa. Middle Creek is home to a wide variety of wildlife, but it is best know for the massive snow goose migration that occurs each year in late February and March.

The migration attracts large numbers of bird watchers and photographers, many of which return year after year to enjoy an exciting and fulfilling experience.  Unfortunately some in the hunting community view bird watchers, photographers, hikers, etc. with contempt and would like to see the area maintained for hunting only, with other user groups excluded. If they had their way scenes such as those below would be a thing of the past.

Snow Geese At Dawn-Willow Point

Morning Take-off At Willow Point

The problem is that the Pennsylvania Game Commission has not been granted a license increase since 1999 and officials say they cannot continue operating at their current level without making substantial cuts. On February 24, 2016 Executive Director Matt Hough gave the agency's annual report to the General Assembly and testified in front of the House Game and Fisheries Committee. In his report Hough gave an overview of agency activities and accomplishments during the past year, and then went on to discuss some of the cuts the agency is considering if a license increase is not approved.

Here is a portion of Mr. Hough's statement as stated in News Release #017-16:: (to read the release in its' entirety, click Here. )

"This almost 20-year-old pricing structure simply is not sufficient for the agency to maintain its current level of services and respond to the growing list of challenges it currently faces. For instance, it should be noted that none of the wildlife diseases I mentioned were present in Pennsylvania at the time of the last license increase.

Already the Commission has implemented budget cuts in response to decreasing revenues. This past year, we eliminated 28 full-time positions from our complement. This has been done through furloughing employees and not back-filling positions as they became vacant.

We also will not be renewing the contracts for about 45 limited-term employees. Some represented the only means we had to effectively and efficiently monitor many non-game wildlife populations.

In addition, we concluded the agency could not hold the Wildlife Conservation Officer class that was scheduled to begin in March of 2017. In light of that decision, the earliest we could begin a class would be March of 2018, with the cadets graduating a year later. By then, we project almost one-third of the officer districts will be vacant due to retirements.  Obviously, the longer we go without resources to conduct a class, the greater the number of vacant districts across the state, resulting in violations going undetected, a decrease in response time and fewer services that officers can provide to the public.

"Without additional revenues in the near future, we will have to take even greater steps at reducing expenditures. Some of the proposals under consideration include closing facilities – such as the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, shooting ranges on game lands, and our Howard Nursery, and substantially reducing the pheasant-stocking program. I have no doubt that these proposals will not be popular with the general public and our hunting-license buyers, but without additional revenues we will have no choice but to make significant reductions to our budget."

Analysis

But is Middle Creek really likely to close? While I was at Middle Creek last week I did not talk to any Pennsylvania Game Commission personnel, but rather discussed the situation with fellow  wildlife photographers.  In addition I have read quite a bit of  commentary in articles posted online and comments on the PGC Facebook Page.

"Middle Creek being considered for closure cast-strapped Game Commission says" by Ad Crable and published by Lancaster Online on 02/25/2016  is one of the  best articles I have read on the subject. It features interviews with PGC officials both past and present  and has an informative comments section as well.
 

We always hear that the State Game Lands System was bought and paid for with hunter's license dollars, and in many cases that is true, but according to the article and other information included in the comments section, Middle Creek itself was bought with Project 70 Funds, while Game Lands 46, which adjoins it, was indeed bought with PGC funds. Below is a direct quote from the article which touches on the source of funding and the purpose for building Middle Creek.

"Middle Creek was built with state taxpayer money as part of a statewide referendum and opened in 1973. Its ongoing management is by the Game Commission, which pays for its operation.

Its main purpose was to provide a vital resting stop for migrating waterfowl whose numbers at the time were worrisome. Since then, Canada geese and other species have rebounded."

Another quote, this one from past Game Commissioner, Stephen Mohr, brings us to the main point that I wish to address today. 

 “They are digging themselves a big hole,” Stephen Mohr, a former Game Commissioner and Conoy Township supervisor, said in reaction to the Game Commission's consideration of closing Middle Creek.

“Closing Middle Creek will infuriate the nonhunters. The hunters could care less. The PGC is only attempting to divide the troops. Middle Creek was built with general revenue moneys. Our elected officials should call their bluff.”.

In reading the comment section on the Pennsylvania Game Commission Facebook page it is clear that some of the more militant hunters would like to see the non-consumptive user excluded from Middle Creek.

Most disturbing to me was a thread on the PGC FB page which began with an individual(from now on referred as commenter A) asking, "Is there snow goose hunting opportunities at Middle Creek? Why can't the bird watchers go ask the farmers instead of us? 

Another person replies-"If you could hunt snows at MC they would not be there.

A replies-"Not true. An area that size, with that quaility of habitat, and along a traditional migratory corridor would always draw snow gesse. Yes it will not be the artificial refugia it is as evinced by these disgusting photos, but the geese will still use the wma, they will just be one their toes more, like wildlife should be"

The photos he was referring to are much like the ones posted below and shows large numbers of snow geese or snow geese with photographers and bird watchers looking on.

"Disgusting photo of Snow Geese In artificial Refugia"

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Another "disgusting photo of Snow Geese In artificial Refugia"

 This was a bit too much to take  so I posted the following reply:

Willard Hill "So it is disgusting to have wildlife that is easily view-able by the public? I am sure that if and when the vast numbers of easily view-able birds are gone at some point in the future, that there will be a great effort extended to get them back. You may still have snow geese if the refuge portion of the WMA was opened, but you would not see them in large numbers for long. As for contribution to the upkeep of Middle Creek- many bird watchers would be willing to pay to help support this area, but the Game Commission does not ask them to do so."

This entire string of comments vanished soon after I made the above comment, and I have looked repeatedly to find it again.  Commenter A posted his question in the comments immediately under the main PGC post and all of the replies that vanished were in response to his comment and not as responses to the main PGC post so it is possible that he removed his question and thus deleted the entire string.

Researching this individual led to a Face Book post by  a group called "The Bird Hunting Society", which among other things supports the closing of all but the hunting part of Middle Creek and getting the non-hunters out.  Here it is in their own words.

"If you hunt Pennsylvania take action!

Middle Creek WMA is an upland and waterfowl mecca. Although hunting is allowed, the wma is used more for bird watching. That may be changing. There is a proposal to CLOSE Middle Creek. We are NOT sure but do not believe that means hunting will end, but think rather it will get the non hunters out and decommission many of the unnecessary (useless to hunters and wildlife) facilities. Waterfowl hunting has been by lottery permit on this wma, and that may be a good thing or a bad thing, however we doubt the closure is because of the expense of running the hunting program. We ask you to support the closure but still keep the wma remain available to hunters, and if appropriate to distribute hunting opportunity and provide quality hunting, the controlled waterfowl hunt be kept."

Middle Creek Visitor Center-Some consider it useless to hunters and wildlife and want to see it closed

So there you have it--get rid of those pesky bird watchers and photographers so that the WMA is used only by the real owners and by the way let's forget that this land was not purchased solely with hunting license dollars,

Another thing that really rings my bell is the common refrain to ask the photographer, the bird watcher, etc. to help foot the bill for wildlife conservation, while at the same time making sure they are unable to do so in a method that quantifies their input.  It is really quite simple--make it so that to be present on Game Commission  land within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that one must be in possession of a valid hunting licenses or in lieu thereof a valid use permit. The fee could be based on the cost of a resident adult general hunting license.  Since it would be very expensive for a large family, this could be modeled on what  I have seen at the national parks where if one person in the group has a valid pass,this allows all in the vehicle access. There would be some sticky fine points to address for sure, but it could be done.

Many photographers, bird watchers, hikers, etc. that do not hunt, do purchase a hunting license or donate to the PGC. This is a good thing, but the problem with buying the license, is that you are counted as just another hunter.  If every photographer, bird watcher, and hiker bought a hunting license under the current system, there would still be those that said that these groups were still not contributing.  Now if there was a box to check as to why you bought the license that would statistically record what interest group you belong to it would be a different story.  As it currently stands you are still considered a dead-beat who refuses to pay their way because no one but you knows why you bought the license.   The same would be true to a certain extent with donating money because it would be assumed you were basing your donation on a glowing approval of programs as they are currently implemented. I wish to emphasize that this is not a criticism of those that do chose to contribute by buying a license or donating.

Another aspect of the situation and perhaps the most important is that a significant portion of the traditional sporting community and at least a portion of important policy makers in the Pennsylvania Game Commission does not want these interest groups to be paying stakeholders.  This is not only true in Pennsylvania, it is true throughout the rest of the country as well. The problem is only going to get worse as  traditional sources of funding for conservation agencies continues to shrink and they desperately try to maintain sufficient funding without including input or monies from other user groups.  This in turn leads to situations like last year where a blatant attempt was made to exclude everyone not engaged in legal hunting and trapping from State Game Lands for a significant portion of the year.

At this point it seems that the threat of closure is more a strategical move announced to coincide with the seasonal upsurge of interest in Middle Creek due to the spring migration.and hopefully motivate the vast numbers of visitors to contact their state legislators about approving a license increase for the PGC.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

 

Mid-October At Middle Creek WMA

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.

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.

Morning At Middle Creek

Great Blue Herons were seen in this area, as well as a few Great Egrets.

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.

Great Egret

Canada Goose Landing

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.

Middle Creek-Dramatic Sunrise and Snow Geese

Middle Creek Sunrise: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 24-105mm@105- ISO 200-1/250 -f 8.0

After the snow on Friday, it was partly cloudy on Saturday morning with patchy fog which made for dramatic sunrise photos. Only  a few geese were visible from the main viewing area where Hopeland road passes by the side of the lake.

Foggy Morning Sunrise: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 24-105mm@58mm- ISO 200-1/800 -f 8.0

It turned out there were still enough snow geese present  for excellent photography, but most of them were roosting in the Willow Point area and were not visible from Hopeland Road.  Large numbers of them flew over the tour road at the north end of the lake as they left the lake later in the morning, but it was foggy and there was not much chance for good photos.

That changed in the afternoon when a large number of geese congregated in the fields around the intersection of Chapel Road and the Tour Road.

Snow Geese Along Tour Road: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 24-105mm@105- ISO 200-1/250 -f 8.0

This was an excellent opportunity to work on  capturing the birds in flight and during landing.

Blue-phase Snow Goose: Canon 7D MK II-Canon 600mm f 4 IS L -ISO 640-1/2000 sec.-f  10

 Snow Goose: Canon 7D MK II-Canon 600mm f 4 IS L -ISO 640-1/2000 sec.-f  10

Snow Goose Landing: Canon 7D MK II-Canon 600mm f 4 IS L -ISO 200-1/1600 sec.-f 8

Snow Goose Landing: Canon 7D MK II-Canon 600mm f 4 IS L -ISO 200-1/1600 sec.-f 8

It seems that the Canon 7D MK II works quite well in situations such as this and overall I was very pleased with how the camera performed.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.