As Allen and I were returning from having just seen the Virginia's Warbler with a dozen others,  we saw these masses of snow geese overhead, then followed the show by turning off on the road that leads to the Wye Oak behind the community college.  We stopped in a little fishing park to hear their barking and watch the ever-changing formations that filled the sky.  They were heading southeast at the time.
 
Earlier, upon turning left off the Pickering Creek sanctuary's gravel driveway less than a mile down that road we saw at least one mature bald eagle and possibly some immature ones (not buzzards) feeding on a carcass in the field on the left.   Opposite this scene on a dead snag to the right, quite close to the road we saw another mature bald eagle perched majestically in the late day sun.
 
Dorothy Paugh
Bowie, MD  
 

 

> Date: Sun, 26 Feb 2012 22:40:59 -0500
> From: 
> Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Goose Exodus
> To: 
> 
> This evening I arrived at Kent Narrows at about 4:30 p.m. Besides the Eurasian Wigeon, which was just gorgeous in the sunlight, there were three rafts of Snow Geese out in the bay, each raft conservatively holding tens of thousands of birds. One of the birders who were out estimated the flock at 74,000 birds. It could have been that many, or even more, I can't imagine that high, let alone count! But there were massive amounts of Snow Geese. 
> 
> The birders said that the some recently had risen, and settled back down. As Jon Ranson and I watched, the geese started lifting in "small" groups (hundreds of birds at a time). I expected them to settle, but they did not. They started heading eastward. While traveling eastwards, they formed loose skeins and rose very high. They then turned north-northeast and flew out of sight, quite high in the sky. 
> 
> We watched for about 45 minutes as group after group rose, turning the sky a stripey white in places, and in places the sky was simply clouded with the white birds, with black wingtips. There were some dark birds (blue morphs) mixed in. 
> 
> They were far enough away that we could not hear what should have been a roar of noise from the show - but close enough to be really moved by the vast numbers taking off. 
> 
> As we were leaving, one birder suggested they were just staging, and had startled by a bald eagle. To me, however, it sure looked like they were leaving. They were far too high to be just startled, and they took off group by group, over at least 45 minutes (we left while several thousands remained). 
> 
> 
> 
> Joanne
> 
> Joanne Howl, DVM
> West River, MD
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Peter Kaestner <>
> To: MDOSPREY <>
> Sent: Sun, Feb 26, 2012 10:22 pm
> Subject: [MDOSPREY] Goose Exodus
> 
> 
> Just before sunrise on Sunday, while driving east on Rt 50 just west of the 
> 50/301 split, I saw a huge number of Canada Geese flying north in hundreds and 
> hundreds of 'Vs'. There were birds from the northern horizon to the southern. 
> As I continued east and south down Rt 50 towards Rt 404, I could still see 
> thousands of geese off to the west heading north. I conservatively estimated 
> 100,000 geese. In addition, at the NW corner of Rt 50 and 213, there was a 
> vortex of Snow Geese that I estimated at 20,000 birds. The Snow Geese were not 
> going anywhere -- today.
> 
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