Every year, between 8,000 and 25,000 snow geese stop at the Gunnison Bend Reservoir. They are on their way to nesting grounds in the arctic. Here are 12 images plus two videos.

It’s difficult to describe what this looks and feels like in pictures.

You do need a long lens. I used a Canon 100-400 MM F 4.5-5.6 L Lens the minimum lens for this setup. I was mostly in the 300-400MM range but some of the details were significant crops.

#2 Mass Takeoff

I met a couple rangers from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). One said this was a a quarter-size of normal with 24,000 being normal. Another estimated about half of normal.

So, let’s call it ~10,000.

My wife, Liz, and I went to see the geese Friday evening, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning. Saturday evening was the big winner.

#3 The Right Light

This was about an hour after the preceding image, about 6 PM on Saturday. It’s one of my favorite images from the trip and looks much better on a bright screen.

Every night between 4 and 6 PM the birds leave the water to feed in the surrounding fields. The geese are looking for spilled corn or soybean morsels.

They stay overnight in the fields. Then return between 8 and 10 AM the next day.

On Saturday, the geese left in one big mass about 4 PM but most of them circled back providing a second opportunity for images.

#4 Close-up view of the above scene.

#5 Late Afternoon Reflections

#6 Cold Saturday Morning

It was 21 degrees Saturday morning. This was about 7:30 AM before the birds arrived. I love the fog and frost, but it was too early for the geese.

#7 Morning Arrival

The birds arrive in 3-5 flocks in the morning, but they tend to all leave together in the evening. The first flock of the day determines where the birds all congregate for the day. That makes the mornings more hit or miss for photographers.

The DNR said there were more geese last year. However, but they landed on a part of the reservoir that was inaccessible.

#8 Returning to Saturday evening and the best light.

#9 Beautiful Reflection. This is an extreme crop of the last takeoff from the reservoir to the fields.

Instead of rapidly ascending, the geese took off lower to the water and I was able to capture that nice reflections. It’s one of my three favorite images from the trip.

Here are some images from Sunday morning.

#10 Landing Gear

There were clouds Sunday morning and these birds arrived much earlier than Saturday morning so we had a bit of glow on the water.

#11 Morning takeoff – This group circled and returned. They stay on the water all day.

Shooting into the sun would not have worked without those clouds.

#12: Morning Arrival and Barn

Images don’t do justice to the feeling of being there with 10,000 geese flying around.

What are your favorites?

My wife, Liz, Liz took some videos. The videos give you a better idea of what it was like to be there.

Video #1 Saturday Evening

Video #2 Snow Geese Morning

Nature is amazing.

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