After the Snow Geese stippled our little Honda with their version of a Pollack drip painting, I waited a while before heading to the car wash, thinking it would be a waste of resources when the rain would just wipe the body clean within a day or two. But, faithful to Northwestern climate patterns, the…
Countdown to Liftoff
This photo series shows the calm before the Snow Goose storm … and the ripple effect that sends thousands of geese into the air within seconds, at just the slightest provocation. They may call out, sending audio waves through the flock before erupting into goose mayhem. Or, they may fall unexpectedly silent for a split…
Studies in Ghost Geese
The first time I witnessed a blast of Snow Geese I described it this way: The sound of flocking snow geese is sometimes described as a “cacophony,” a “symphony,” a “storm” — a “baying of hounds,” a “noise blizzard.” The sound, in fact, varies. There’s a comfortable warbling of goose grumbles and calls as the…
GooseORama
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…
The “Cripples” … or Why I Hate Wing Shooting
Yesterday evening, we were photographing Snow Geese and didn’t realize that we (along with at least 10 other photographers) had chosen a field where hunters were lying in camo. I promised myself I would wait until hunting season was over before I ventured into the wilds beyond Seattle — just as I did last year….
Flight of the Snow Geese
Snow Goose – Chen caerulescens Hugh and I waited until the end of duck hunting season to drive into Skagit Valley’s Fir Island. We were hoping to find one of the massive flocks of Snow Geese who winter around the island after a long migration south. When hunting season ends in late January, there’s a…
