Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
Alright, here’s your homework for the day: Tell me how many geese are in this image. 😀
During the winter and spring, the Colorado plains are home to an incredible number of Canada Geese. This image captures maybe a quarter of one of a series of groups that came in and landed at Barr Lake State Park this past week.
Most are Canada Geese but you do see some white ones in there which are likely Snow Geese or Ross’s Geese.
Snow Geese don’t spend much time in Colorado, only coming through in the early fall and late winter as they migrate. Last week I was at one of their stopover points, a lake northeast of Denver. They unfortunately kept their distance but that allowed me to capture images showing just how many there were. There had to be thousands of them and they were quite loud.
Northeast of Denver yesterday I watched huge masses of geese take flight. Wave after wave passed over, many landing in the nearby fields in such huge numbers they darkened the landscape. Most were Canada Geese but interspersed among them were small numbers of Snow Geese that stood out from the more dominant dark birds with their snow white plumage.
Here in Colorado, some Canada Geese are present year-round but during the winter their numbers swell as many migrate here for the colder months. Most locals tend to dismiss them and pay them little attention and oftentimes view them with disdain as they can be overwhelming (especially their poop!).
Snow Geese on the other hand only stop briefly while migrating to and from their summer homes at the farthest north reaches of North America. Few stay in Colorado for any length of time so it is a bit more unusual and fun to see their gorgeous white forms when they fly over.
