Snow Geese - Hundreds of them up close.

I had never seen Snow Geese in the wild before today. This evening I had hundreds of them landing right in front of me.

The field on the west side of the airport at Palmer, Alaska is a migratory stop for geese. Late in the evening the migratory flocks start dropping out of the sky. We saw thousands of Canada Geese, hundreds of Snow Geese, and two Sandhill Crane this evening.

The side of the road is visible at the bottom of this picture. I was standing on the pavement, on the opposite side. There were a half dozen car loads of spectators, but it was as if we weren't even there.

A pair of Snow Geese coming in for a landing with the Talkeetna Mountains in the back ground. It is hard to decide witch pictures to post, because I shot 124 picture in about an hour. So fare I haven't even discarded half of them. There are just too many good ones.

Another pair dropping in from a different direction.

There were a few small melt water puddles near the road. The Snow Geese went straight for a long drink, as soon as they landed. The Canada Geese did not come to the water.

A few late arrivals quenching the thirst from the long flight, in the last rays of the setting sun.

This picture was taken in an entirely different part of the field. I was thrilled to be able to get a shot like this through a chain link fence, at the time. Then I realize all the other spectators were way down at the south end, and the Snows were all starting to move to that end. So, I joined them.

We had a truly fantastic evening, far beyond my expectations. This is my best in flight shot to date.

Wow Gras these are great shots! I especially love the one of the snow geese dropping in from a different direction and this last one. This must have been so exciting; thanks for sharing it with us!

These are absolutely wonderful. Thank you for posting them!

That must be fun to watch. Great shots of all the action.