If you didn’t like Alfred Hitchcock’s movie “The Birds” then you might not like some of the experiences in the wildlife refuges!! When the birds lift off and fly over your head, the sky darkens with their numbers, and the wingbeat can almost be felt! I love it. The place is alive with action and cacophony of squabbling and squawking sounds, non stop. After day in the refuge, I go to sleep hearing the noise in my mind’s ears, and seeing birds everywhere in my mind’s eye!

In one instance I was looking towards the sunset itself, when a rumbling sound came from behind, and thousands of geese in a field were lifting off. It was so busy that it was hard to know which direction to photograph in, so I had to spend another day and do it all over again! Played with shutter speeds, moonrise/dusk, mass liftoffs, and single birds. Even shot a mass swarm of red and  yellow-winged blackbirds as they moved across the stubble in a field gathering insects. (directly below). Hard to see them unless it’s larger, but there’s a few red and yellow wings flashin’ in there.

To say I had fun would be an understatement!!

This one below captured the mood of night falling on the refuge for me.

I liked how they squawked while flying, so I tried to time it for that, too.

Thanks for visiting,