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A Million Snow Geese video

2/24/2020

The photos that I took of the Snow Geese at the Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge (see previous post) only show half of the story. I produced a short video to help show what it is like. But you really need to experience it in person because it is a wide-screen surround-sound event. Here is the video below:
(After the video YouTube will probably take you to a bunch of videos that aren't mine. Click the back button or reload the page to get back.)

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Snow Geese at Loess Bluffs NWR

2/23/2020

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About a million or more Snow Geese and Ross's Geese at the Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge (formerly Squaw Creek NWR) in northwest Missouri near Mound City, (about 45 minutes south of Council Bluffs, IA) February 20-21, 2020.
It is hard to describe this spectacle of birds stopping off at the national wildlife refuge for a short time before they continue their migration north. Large rafts of tens of thousands of birds packed in tightly in the water, and hundreds of thousands in the sky stretching for miles. Their chattering never stopping but only intensifying when suddenly tens of thousands all get up and fly off at once, only to return to the water a short time later. There is a loop road around the wetlands and very easy to see the birds including many ducks, Canada Geese, Trumpeter Swans, Bald Eagles, hawks, and more. Check the periodic waterfowl reports at the wildlife refuge for more information. But be aware that they are migrating and at any moment they can take off and leave. I went several years ago with an estimate of half a million on Monday. By Friday when I arrived there were about 10 or 12 thousand. In just a few days nearly half a million birds got up and left.
Just a sample of the photos from the two-days below. Click to see more. (See the Video also at the bottom of the photos page.)

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Color the Wind 2020 Kite Festival Video

2/16/2020

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It was a beautiful Saturday for the 2020 Color the Wind Kite Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa. I don't know how many kites were there, but I walked at least a quarter of a mile on the ice to try to see them all.
Here is a short video: (After the video YouTube will probably take you to a bunch of videos that aren't mine. Click the back button or reload the page to get back.)

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Raptors in Rapid City

2/7/2020

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Short-eared Owl (Click to see larger)

Returning from our trip to Yellowstone National Park (see previous posts) we had an opportunity to spend a couple of extra days in Rapid City, SD when I-90 was closed due to a snowstorm. We found a Birds and Blooms event at a local greenhouse and went to get a breath of spring in the greenhouses and to see the raptors from the Black Hills Raptor Center. These are education birds that have been injured or imprinted on humans and can't be returned to the wild. It is always cool to see raptors up close and to to take photos in a somewhat controlled environment (well, there were dozens of people trying to see the birds also). The birds below include Short-eared Owl, American Kestrel, Eastern Screech Owl (red phase), Red-tailed Hawk and a Ferruginous Hawk.
[Click imaged below to see larger]

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A Million Snow Geese video

Snow Geese at Loess Bluffs NWR

Color the Wind 2020 Kite Festival Video

Raptors in Rapid City

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