Canada Geese

All posts tagged Canada Geese

Monday ~ February 01, 2021

Posted by Dave Updegraff on February 1, 2021
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Happy Monday!

I only have about 10,000 images of Canada Geese many of which I have posted over the last 10 years of writing this blog.  So I wasn’t anxious to add more geese to my inventory.  But after wandering through the country side for two days and finding nothing that inspired me to push the shutter I decided to got to one of my favorite places in Dubuque.

I had to do a fair bit of walking to get to them but found a group of Canada Geese and some Mallard Ducks enjoying the open water and sunshine.

I walked past these geese in their sleeping position.  They paid me no notice other than one raised its head just to make sure I wasn’t going to get too close to the group.

The wind was blowing pretty hard and that made the wind sting my face.  I hadn’t put on a heavy coat and didn’t anticipate being out very long so I was really cold when I got back to the truck.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Friday ~ December 11, 2020

Posted by Dave Updegraff on December 11, 2020
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Happy Friday!

Well I went to Green Island yesterday with high expectations but in the 10 years I’ve been going there this was my worst experience.  I saw a fair amount of wildlife but they were all too far away to get a decent shot of them. 

I only photographed these Canada Geese for my friend Betty otherwise they too were too far away.

I spent 4 hours driving the “trenches” and setting and waiting hoping that something would land close to where I was but all for not.  I only took these two images. 

I’ve had some wonderful experiences at the preserve and I’ll probably go back sometime but not for a while.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Friday ~ January 03, 2020

Posted by Dave Updegraff on January 3, 2020
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Happy Friday (for all my working friends!)

Look what I stumbled upon in my travels yesterday.  I was amazed by the sheer numbers of Trumpeter Swans.

I drove past them and thought I have to turn around and photograph these guys.  The noise of their honking was loud and none of them seemed to mind my presence.

I had my 60 – 600mm lens attached to the Nikon D500 so the cropped sensor effect gave me a focal length of 900mm.

There were at least 30 Trumpeters and triple that number of Canada Geese.  I spent and enjoyable 30 minutes photographing, looking, and listening to these beautiful birds.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Wednesday ~ April 24, 2019

Posted by Dave Updegraff on April 24, 2019
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Happy Wednesday!

Talk about déjà vu.  It was a week ago that I posted images of the pelicans at the “Duck Pond.”  I was in Maquoketa again yesterday for lunch with friends and I fully expected them to be gone.  

However on my way out-of-town I discovered they are beginning to look like permanent squatters.

This guy paddled away from me when I first arrived but I just stayed on the observation platform for about 15 minutes and he swam very close to me and didn’t seem to mind the shutter clicking.

Many of the Canada geese are nesting now and they seem to cohabit pretty well with the pelicans.

There were pelicans flying in and leaving the entire 30 minutes I was there.  Busy airport. 🙂

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Sunday ~ March 24, 2019

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 24, 2019
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Happy Sunday!

Jeanne and I went down to the river yesterday to look at the rise in the water.  Nothing like the Missouri River is getting but still the river is higher than normal.

I have taken and posted hundreds of photos of the critters I am showing today but I find it hard to resist photographing any of them when they let me get this close.  Jeanne actually spotted this guy in the marina as we were headed to the river.  At 900mm focal length I felt like I was right next to him.  🙂

Click on any image to make it larger and reveal more detail.

The ubiquitous Canada Goose is a common subject but couldn’t resist photographing this pair searching for food in at the Mud Lake park.

Finally one of my favorite subjects.  This little ringed-bill gull was waiting on something but after watching him for about 7 minutes he never once moved so this is the pose he offered and the one I took.  🙂

We saw a couple of eagles on the ice but they were too far away to get a decent picture of them.

We decided to eat lunch at a place we had never been to before.  So we dined at 1ST & Main.  Nice restaurant, good service, and great food.  We’ll stop there again.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Monday ~ January 07, 2019

Posted by Dave Updegraff on January 7, 2019
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Happy Monday!

As the sign indicates I took a trip down to Green Island Wildlife Preserve yesterday.  I had very low expectations as this is not the best time of the year to visit the preserve, the weather was cold, gray, and cloudy so I fully expected to come back with an empty memory card.

While none of my images are outstanding in any way, I am always happy to photograph a Bald Eagle.  Even if he has his back to me and is a long way off.  I just love to watch these magnificent creatures.

I also found some Trumpeter Swans at the preserve.  Here is an adult with three signets.  There was an abundance of swans at the lake as well but too far away to photograph.  I enjoyed listening to the sounds they make.

The ever-present Canada geese are always fun to watch and photograph.

It occurred to me that many people who follow this blog have never been to the Green Island Preserve.  So I shot this short video to give you some idea of what it is like.  Perhaps I’ll do that again in the Spring when there is an abundance of wildlife and migratory birds in the area.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Wednesday ~ April 18, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on April 18, 2018
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , .

Happy Wednesday!

I have never met a Blue Heron that I didn’t want to photograph.  I can’t help myself.  🙂

I have three photos for today.

My great friend Mike and I had lunch yesterday and I was about 30 minutes early for our appointment (believe it or not) so I decided to drive a couple of miles to the 16th Street Basin.  I was delighted to see a few Herons fishing there.

The deplorable conditions of the basin (junk wise) is something I have talked about before.  I was overjoyed to see City Crews working diligently picking up garbage around the shoreline.  I stopped and talked with one of the crew and told them how much I appreciated their work and she said that the city was committed to cleaning up the area.  Later that afternoon I saw even more workers picking up trash.

I know  this is a butt shot but like with herons I just have trouble passing up an opportunity to photograph a Goose.  Besides my friend Betty loves geese.  🙂

I didn’t Photoshop out any of the garbage out of this shot.  Normally I will work to get all the distractions out of the image but I wanted to give you an idea of just a small bit of the task ahead of the cleanup crew.

Enjoy your day and be careful.