On January 7 of this year, thousands of snow geese settled on the twin, freshwater ponds at Blackwater Refuge on Maryland's Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Those ponds were bustling and noisy with the constant calling of elegant Canada geese and tundra swans, day and night, before the snows arrived, but were even more so with the continual honking of the new waterfowl on the ponds. Snow geese really cause a stir by themselves. They dominate whatever water or field they land on with their incessant, loud honking and numbers. Because of snow geese, with the help of the Canadas and swans, Blackwater was a pleasant bedlam of sound and activities. The ponds were full of geese, swans and a small variety of ducks, mostly pintails, all intermingling among each other. The swans and pintails "tip-up" to pull water plants from the bottoms of the shallow ponds. But both species of geese apparently fed on waste corn kernels and winter rye in the fields because I didn't see them feeding in the ponds.
Blackwater Refuge, in winter, as in all seasons, is beautiful with its flat terrain, dominance of water and marshes and a big sky. I observed the refuge on our computer, as if I was looking out the window of a houseboat. Many of the waterfowl were close to the camera.
The prettiest and most exciting time of day at the refuge is around sunset at the end of a sunny day. At that time, many Canada and snow geese, amid a ruckus of honking, run across the ponds while vigorously flapping their wings, stream off the ponds, flock after flock, silhouetted black against the yellow, orange or red western sky, and fly swiftly to nearby feeding fields. The geese, as all birds do, take off into the wind for lift and flight control. And all birds land into the wind for flight control. For several minutes the lovely evening sky at Blackwater is excitedly full of magnificent, noisy geese passing across it and swirling down, group after group, to a harvested corn or winter rye field. Both species, either in pure flocks of themselves or mixed together, slide down into the wind to a field as if on an aerial waterfall that fills the fields. Meanwhile, the whole landscape is drenched in the red glow of the western sky, that also adds more beauty to the geese.
Snow geese, in winter, do everything in great masses, causing exciting, inspiring spectacles. They rest together on rivers and larger impoundments, feed in fields together and migrate in large hordes.
When both kinds of geese are full of corn kernels and/or green blades of winter rye, they come back to the ponds, again group after noisy group. They sweep low over the water and descend into the wind for flight control, each one's reflection racing through the water to meet it at impact.
In the middle of January, when the weather was very cold for a few days, the shallow ponds froze. The snow geese and many each of the swans, Canada geese and ducks left Blackwater. The swans and ducks couldn't consume aquatic vegetation. But when the weather warmed and the water thawed, the swans, ducks and Canada geese returned to the refuge. The snow geese, however, did not come back. Snow geese are notorious for being unpredictable and shifting around a lot. They feed in such large masses that they soon clean out most edibles from a field or marsh and have to move on to another feeding place, and another, and another, almost everyday through winter.
I was thrilled to see so many pintail ducks on the twin ponds of Blackwater Refuge. I haven't seen so many of those handsome ducks in several years. And they are an interesting species because of their winter and early-spring courtship flights. A few drakes gather around a female pintail and take turns raising up in a bow, then raising their rears a bit. At some point, the hen takes off in speedy flight over a pond or marsh, and surrounding land, with all suitors following closely along. The whole little group sweeps high and low in dashing flight and its said that the male who keeps up with her best becomes her mate. Pintails present a show that should be enjoyed when and where one can.
In spite of the numbers of snow geese when they were at Blackwater and the majesty of tundra swans, the stately Canada geese ultimately dominated the refuge. They remained there the longest in the largest numbers, with lusty bugling to match their magnificent bearing.
By late January, the ponds were full of ducks, mostly pintails, Canada geese and tundra swans. At that time, I stopped watching Blackwater on our computer. Now I am waiting for spring activities at that refuge on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
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