Almost all of these photos are taken by Mike since I was always on the wrong side of the car for the things we saw. We drove up to Blue Grass late in the afternoon.
On the way there we saw huge skeins of geese flying north! I've never seen such long lines and so many of them....one wave after another.
This was one of the closest shots....we pulled off in a parking lot.
Big vees and little vees!
I was amazed at the numbers
We got to Blue Grass just in time .....
....for the moon rising in front of us over the first lakes......
.....and the sun getting low behind us in the west. Not sure what this is, but got a couple shots of it.
It has a beak that extends down, if you pull it up larger......hawk?
Blackbirds were beginning to roost in all the trees....
On the way there we saw huge skeins of geese flying north! I've never seen such long lines and so many of them....one wave after another.
This was one of the closest shots....we pulled off in a parking lot.
Big vees and little vees!
I was amazed at the numbersWe got to Blue Grass just in time .....
....for the moon rising in front of us over the first lakes......
.....and the sun getting low behind us in the west. Not sure what this is, but got a couple shots of it.
It has a beak that extends down, if you pull it up larger......hawk?
Blackbirds were beginning to roost in all the trees....About that time Mike spotted the owl on his side of the car.
An owl in the moonlight! How cool! The photo makes it look darker than it was. The sun was still up....barely.
This was the best shot he got with its head turned towards us. We have no idea what kind it is, although I have been pouring over the guide books. I wish the photos were better, but I was just thrilled to see one at all. Of course this is nowhere near my house, so I don't get to count it for the February count....shucks!
Trying to focus on both the owl and the moon was tough.
It was getting dark fast, so we headed on around the lakes and back towards the way out.
As we passed the last corn fields, suddenly geese began coming in large numbers to land for the night. I like this first shot because you can see a flock of small birds at the top of the photo heading towards the lakes and the trees to roost and the geese landing in the fields nearby.
The light was getting bad but they appeared to be mostly Canada geese. We saw a few white heads in the mix......maybe the dark Snow Geese.
We were passing the camera back and forth as Mike shot them landing on his side and I tried for shots of them crossing over from my side. Would have been a good time to have both cameras with us!
Geese in the air, geese in the field.
It was an exciting afternoon with all the activity and the owl was a real treat!
An owl in the moonlight! How cool! The photo makes it look darker than it was. The sun was still up....barely.
This was the best shot he got with its head turned towards us. We have no idea what kind it is, although I have been pouring over the guide books. I wish the photos were better, but I was just thrilled to see one at all. Of course this is nowhere near my house, so I don't get to count it for the February count....shucks!
Trying to focus on both the owl and the moon was tough. It was getting dark fast, so we headed on around the lakes and back towards the way out.
As we passed the last corn fields, suddenly geese began coming in large numbers to land for the night. I like this first shot because you can see a flock of small birds at the top of the photo heading towards the lakes and the trees to roost and the geese landing in the fields nearby.
The light was getting bad but they appeared to be mostly Canada geese. We saw a few white heads in the mix......maybe the dark Snow Geese.
We were passing the camera back and forth as Mike shot them landing on his side and I tried for shots of them crossing over from my side. Would have been a good time to have both cameras with us!
Geese in the air, geese in the field.It was an exciting afternoon with all the activity and the owl was a real treat!
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25 comments:
Such amazing sights to witness Mary, let alone photograph.
What a rewardingly beautiful end to the day. I especially love the moon just rising over the lakes at Blue Grass, and the three trees topped with birds.
Mary: I loved them all, what a nice bird show. That hawk was a cool shot in flight.
Roy: It was a great time to get to the lakes, but I'm not good with low light conditions.
Country Dreaming:Thanks! I only wish the light had been better for all of it.
Fishing Guy: Thanks! Wasn't even sure it was a hawk, it was so far away, but it looked nice with the sun going down.
Hi Mary
Your owl is a Short-eared Owl. Great shots of it on top of that tree with the moon! And geese too! did you get to hear them? I love that as much as seeing them. What a fab day for you! (-:
Thanks for taking us on your drive. It's nice to know geese are heading north -- maybe spring is coming! The pictures of the owl and the moon are great.
Wow---that is a 'plum' lot of geese!!!! I love the ones with the Owl and the moon the most. They could be entered into a contest for sure...
It was neat seeing the sunset there. Looks like you two had a wonderful day.
Hugs,
Betsy
I've seen geese lately, too, but not in these kidns of numbers. Seems awfully cold yet to head north, but I guess it's up to them.
Wow! You got a lot of good pictures! I like to see the geese in flight! Wonderful captures!
One great, birding drive in the country!
A treat indeed Mary. How fortunate to see so many birds in the same area. I'm still looking for Owls, and of course the illusive Tundra Swans. It seems the migration has begun, so I'd better keep an eye to the sky. I actually heard Mr. Cardinal's spring song yesterday too.
B.
WOW! I Would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see an owl!!
I've just taken a closer look at your lovely atmospheric bird of prey photos and I'm sure your bird is a Northern Harrier. In the first photo the white rump shows up and the way it is hunting (the shape of it) says to me it is a Northern Harrier. Is that a first for you?
Jenny: I can always count on you to identify the birds that I don't know :-) Thanks!
George and Betsy: I was amazed at the long lines of geese (maybe ducks, too?) We were trying to guess where they were headed for the night.
Katney, Dorothy, Cicero: I've never seen that many geese in such ribbons. Then having even more bed down near the lakes was great. What a journey they all make every year!
Becky: Now I want to go back every evening and look for the owl :-) The lakes were mostly frozen and we didn't see any waterfowl on the lakes themselves. I sent you a couple more of those cards :-)
Kerri: I was thrilled to see the owl, and only wish I could have been closer and seen it even better!
that is freaky and fascinating at the same time! good thing you had your camera ready ;)
Tina: Thanks! I try to remember to keep it in the car all the time now.
Geese heading north already?I hope that means that they will soon show up in Canada,The owl shots are cool.
Blessings,Ruth
A fantastic series Mary. I love the shots of the geese but those of the sunrise/sunset steal the show, especially with the owl.
How fantastic Mary - wonderful shots. How lovely to see those skeins of geese. We occasionally get a few fly over our house and sometimes swans - but at the most 4 or 5. The shots of the owl and the moon are just great. Thanks for all of this. A x
Ruth: Maybe the geese know more than the groundhog and spring is close....I hope.
Joan: Thanks! I'm so glad Mike could get those owl shots.
Anne: Thanks go to Mike for these! He did a great job.
That moon and owl photo is gorgeous, good job!
Wow, you are really into it - I love the pic with the moon and the owl. And the mockingbird on the right is my favorite :)
Makes me want to paint them!
Just took a few minutes to look at all the photos and try to see what I have missed...love that you got the owl. I am wondering if it is the short-eared owl like the ones we seen. Your Bluegrass area sounds a lot like the strip pit area. And the ones with the bird flying...could you see a white spot on its rump? And did it do a lot of flying close to the ground? Just it being in that area, makes me wonder if it is possibly a northern Harrier. Their tail always seems longer to me, but not sure that it is or if it is just that the ones we see usually do not have it fanned out when flying. And I very seldom see one land in a tree...they usually land on the ground.
Hope your knee is feeling lots better.
Hi Mary! I'm looking over all your posts and had to comment on this one. Jenny is right with the Short-eared Owl!! Great find!! The Harrier too!! Whoo Hooo!!
The 2nd one of the owl and the moon is my pick. I would love to see an owl.
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