Ok - I was going to post a photo of a chicadee today, but then yesterday I looked out the window and saw something much much cooler...

I guess let me back up a little. Recently we've had a flock of turkeys wandering around the area (yes, I do have a couple photos I'll share of them soon), and so when I first looked out the window, I saw a bunch of dark spots in the corn field next to our house I just assumed they were the turkeys. Regardless, I went and got the binoculars for a closer look, and imagine my surprise when the birds I saw were something I've never seen before!

Anya had to grab one of our bigger bird ID books, because these are definitely native to this area. In fact, their normal migration route doesn't even show them as coming through here... so this truly was something interesting. Even more interesting was the fact that she somehow opened the book right to the page that identified what we were looking at - Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons).

I inched my way as close as I could trying to get the best photos I could (unfortunately, I probably should have taken the 1.4x teleconverter off for crisper photos)...

I am honestly disappointed with the results the 1.4x teleconverter gave me in these conditions (unfortunately, just as I went out, the already setting sun went behind a cloud, so lighting wasn't the greatest). At full size, these images are a bit soft for my liking, but for sharing here, even cropped, I guess they are ok...

I was amazed with how close I was getting (though honestly, according to the camera I was still more than 500 feet away from them). The geese appeared to be pretty unconcerned with me approaching. I would move up slightly, then stop and kneel (yeah - my knees were *freezing* from kneeling in the snow in single digit temperatures). A couple times the geese got up and moved around a little, but then settled right back into their spots.

Then without any hint that I had come too close or too quickly, the entire flock took wing. This is where I really regret having the 1.4x teleconverter on because focusing was much slower and the resulting images are much softer than I would have liked. I had just started thinking that I was close enough to consider taking the teleconverter back off, but I was too slow in making the decision to do so.

All told, we counted a maximum of fourteen geese in one of the shots, but I think there were probably more. A lot of them were hidden from view in the corn stalks and only seven of them were out in the front that I was able to take photos of.

Normally I would be more disappointed with these kinds of results from my photography, but considering the rarity of the subject, I decided to keep them to share anyway...

It did teach me a few more lessons though (hopefully ones I will remember)... I do need to do more test photos with the teleconverter to see if I get better results at higher apertures (I was at f/8 to get a decent shutter speed), but when in doubt, I should only use the teleconverter when absolutely necessary and get back to the regular lens as quickly as possible. Honestly, based on the results I got from my first images, I probably should have just continued with the lens by itself the whole time, but it is difficult not to give in to that temptation to want a little more magnification when your subject is so far away.

I will definitely keep looking to see if these geese stop by again, and if they do I'll hopefully be able to get some better photos. But to be completely honest, I can't say I expect to ever get to see these geese ever again unless I head to Texas or Alaska at some point! I am incredibly pleased that I did get the encounter that I did... seeing awesome stuff like this is precisely why Anya and I bought this property, and it is a privilege to experience stuff like this!

- Bill