Beauty of Number

Figure 1. Snow Geese, Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, CA.

It is kind of unexpected for me to photography birds. I bought a used Canon 100-400mm lens from eBay in 2009 primarily for large mammals in places like Yellowstone National Park. At that time, I didn't expect to use this lens a lot. After all, I live far away from that kind of places. There is no way for me to go there often. Since I wouldn't use it often, a used lens should be good enough.

Sometimes lens finds a way. I knew there are people out there shooting birds. So I thought why not give it a try? Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge is just a short drive from where I live. That's where I start to shoot birds. From later on, I went other places, too.

To me, migratory birds are fun to watch. Every winter, these birds come south to places like California to spend their winter. Snow geese are among them. When standing alone, they are not as impressive as birds like bald eagle or others. But their number and sound are always amazing. One thing distinguishes them from others is the number, especially when they burst off together to blanket the sky. While they are small, the power is huge. This is always the moment I am waiting for whenever I see them on the ground. The two figures here are some of my experience for this aspect.

Although this number of beauty also happens to other birds such as sandhill cranes, Canada geese and tundra swans, snow geese seem to be the easiest to see, relatively speaking. If you haven't seen this ever, it is worth the effort to go there and enjoy it.


Figure 2. Snow Geese, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA.