Snow Geese

Snow Goose -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, ISO: 200, f/5, 1/1000s

I've tried to capture the power of the large flocks of geese that winter in the Central Valley in photos, but I've never been able to pull it off.  You have to experience it for yourself.  It's visual.  It's sonic.  It hits a person in a primal way.

Inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun, image #7514.

Backlit Hare

Black-tailed Jackrabbit -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 800

How often do you get a chance to take photos of a jackrabbit running straight toward you?

I can tell you how often it has happened for me.  I began shooting wildlife about four years ago.  I've photographed more jackrabbits than I can count.  I've got plenty of shots of them sitting in the grass.  I've got plenty of shots of their butts as they run away from me.  A week ago I had a first.  This hare didn't run away from me, instead he ran straight toward the car.  He ran straight toward the car while Pongo was hanging out the driver side window watching him!  I was able to take the best shots of a jackrabbit I've ever taken in spite of the fact that the sun was behind the hare.

Pongo didn't bark or try to jump out the window (I keep him on a long leash tied to a chair in the car just in case).  I've seen him confused before when wild animals have directly approached us.  I'm not sure if he was confused or just excited, but he bounced around a bit without losing his head and leaping after the jackrabbit.  He did a good job.

Synchronized Swimming

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, ISO: 1600, f/5.6, 1/1600s

I'm not sure what these geese were up to.  They kept tilting their heads to the side.  This shot reminded me of Olympic synchronized swimmers.  Silly geese.

Duck Week: Cinnamon Teal

Cinnamon Teal -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II, ISO: 500, f/5.6. 1/2000s

Cinnamon teals are always fun to spot.  They're small ducks, bigger than ruddy ducks and buffleheads but not by a whole lot.  I've found that they are tough to shoot for whatever reason.  Maybe another way to say that is that I don't have very many good shots of cinnamon teals.

One of the things I find surprising is that they have the same blue color in their wings that a blue-winged teal does.  I guess it's not too surprising if you look only at the female ducks.  It's tough for me to tell a lady blue-winged from a lady cinnamon teal.  I just assume if she's hanging out with a cinnamon drake she's a cinnamon teal and vice versa.

Cinnamon Teal -- Merced National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II, ISO: 400, f/5.6, 1/2000s

Duck Week: Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 320

Northern Pintails are the best dressed ducks I know.  Their lines are sharp.  Their bills are polished.  There might be flashier ducks but none spiffier.

Northern Pintail -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO: 500

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO: 500

If I had to pick my favorite waterfowl common to the Central Valley in winter I'd probably choose the Northern Pintail.  I like their black and brown coloring and their fancy tails, but it's probably the glossy beak that really does it for me.  These guys have style.

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 1250

I have my best luck with shooting hawks at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge.  They sometimes like to hang out in the trees right along the auto tour route.  They're used to the cars there, I guess.  This was the first of two hawks I saw in the the trees there on Sunday before Thanksgiving.  I took so many pictures of this one I didn't even bother with the second red tail just around the corner.

Geese Darken the Sky

Snow & Ross' Geese -- Sacramento National Wildlfe Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5, 1/1000s, ISO: 125

I've heard there used to be so many geese and ducks in the Central Valley that they would darken the sky.  That's easy to imagine at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge.  If you're in the right place at the right time you might even experience it.

Sunset in the Central Valley

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, 1/80s, f/5.6, ISO: 160

Sunset photos feel like cheating.  I like 'em when I get 'em, though.  I took this one a few months ago on a bird photography trip with Pongo.  He didn't care so much about the sunset, he was more into the quacking and honking of the ducks and geese.

All Your Ducks Are Belong to Us

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

Northern pintails and northern shovelers are packed in tight in this photo from a couple of years ago at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge.  The populations can get a bit dense in the winter.

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.

Snow Geese & Friends

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II, 1/1600s, f/5.6, ISO: 320

I stopped at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge on my way up to Oregon this weekend.  It's always more fun to go here with Pongo because he enjoys seeing all the wildlife as much as I do, but this was not a good trip to bring him along.  Just as well, my parents were cat sitting my sister's two new kittens.  Pongo and kittens would not be a good mix.

I think I hit the refuge at a bad time of day.  There were plenty of birds to see, but I've seen the refuge packed a lot tighter with birds than on this particular day.