Coming in for a Landing

Greater White-fronted Goose -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II, 1/2000s, f/5.6, ISO: 500

I like this picture for a couple of reasons.  First, these geese look a little awkward descending for a landing, which I find amusing.  Most birds know how to make landing effortless.  Not so with geese, though, they sometimes look like they've never actually done it before.  Second, all the birds in the background give an indication to how crowded this refuge can get.  In fact, anyone who has been to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge in the winter can vouch for the fact that the population in the photo is actually sparse.  This photo was taken in the middle of the day.  I think a good percentage of the birds were out foraging for food.

To be fair, this was a tricky landing these geese were making.  For whatever reason they decided to plop themselves right down into a group of snow geese.  I think I'd have been annoyed if I was one of the geese on the ground given all the open water available to the incoming geese.  Silly birds.