Hagerman NWR: December 2015

Took the opportunity to head back to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge for the first time since last spring's floods today as part of a Heard Nature Photography Club group outing. The lure of thousands of migrating geese was strong, especially after my somewhat disappointing experience at the High Plains Snow Goose Festival a couple of years ago.

The geese were there before dawn as advertised, along with about 10 folks from the club.  Most had given up on shooting the actual sunrise due to the lack of clouds.  But my thinking is that if I'm going to go to the trouble of waking up for a sunrise, I'm going to shoot it -- clouds or no clouds.  So I went with another club member who knew the area better to a spot where I could get a view directly into the rising sun with both geese and water in the foreground.  Mission accomplished!

The geese surprised us all by taking off for their feeding grounds before the sun was actually up.  I wasn't set up to capture them taking off especially well.  Even if I had been, I'm not sure I could gotten something sharp in the low light.

Next up was pretty much sitting and waiting for that sunrise.  I like the serenity of this shot just before dawn ...

... and I like what the flocks of flying ducks add to this one from right after dawn.

Changed orientation for grins, and some more ducks came by to add that extra element to the scene.

Next up came taking advantage of the warm low light to try and find an intimate capture of a common scene that had a special look from "golden hour."  These reeds close to shore fit the bill.

Meandered around the northeast part of the refuge for a while, seeing some white-tailed deer but not much else.  And the deer saw me first, so no photos.  Eventually I headed back toward the visitor center, stopping when I saw a Great Blue Heron in the pond just before you get to the property.  He also had no interest in having his picture taken, but fortunately this reflection of the trees had no choice.

Meadowlarks were thick in the dead leaves along the side of the road between the visitor center and Wildlife Drive.  Not sure if they were Eastern or Western, since we apparently have both.  I liked how much of the chest pattern was visible in this one ...

... but I also liked the slightly outstretched pose in this one.

I inadvertently followed a pair for almost the whole length of Plover Road.  They kept flying about 10 feet further down the road when my car got close.  Eventually one sat still long enough for a decent capture with the water in the background.

A trio of these little birds paced my car for a while, almost like I was a water buffalo and they were hoping I'd scare up some insects for them to eat.  I asked another club member for some ID help but we're not quite sure.  A better view of the tail would have helped.  We're torn between a Savannah Sparrow and Yellow-Rumped Warbler.

A small gang of Ring-billed Gulls sat on a narrow strip of land still above water, periodically rotating members.

I kept an eye on the part of the lake the geese had left from hoping they'd return for a drink after they'd eaten breakfast, but never did see them come back.  So the morning ended up being another example of how I always try to approach my photo outings -- go with a plan, but be flexible to adjust to what the day presents you!