Mass Graylag Geese take off.

glsammy · #1 (**permalink**) 08-01-2011, 05:19 PM

Today we went to Stoke Bardolph, by the river trent. We saw hundreds of Greylag Geese on the River and feeding on the fields nearby.
After a while all the birds had left the water and were directly opposite us. A small group of youths on the other side of the river obviously thought they'd have some fun by scaring the Geese into taking flight, which they all did. What a sight and the sound was deafening.
The Geese circled for a while before settling down again in another field away from any stupid humans.

Here's a few shots I got. This was one time when I wished I'd got a wider lens on. My 400mm just didn't get over the scale of the flyby. I wouldn't like to guess how many birds there were, but what you can see in these shots was just a small fraction of the total. A truly awesome sight.

Take off:

A couple of closer shots.

A late addition.

This one shows just how close to me they were! The out of focus birds were simply too close to focus on.

Wild-Woman · #2 (**permalink**) 08-01-2011, 05:26 PM

Must have been quite something to see Graham, even though it was through the actions of the irresponsible few. Cracking captures!

glsammy · #3 (**permalink**) 08-01-2011, 05:29 PM

It certainly was. I also got shots of the idiots that scared them into flight but thought perhaps I'd better not post them here!

Wild-Woman · #4 (**permalink**) 08-01-2011, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glsammy

It certainly was. I also got shots of the idiots that scared them into flight but thought perhaps I'd better not post them here!

The local paper might like to use the story....and the pictures. Birds and idiots included of course.

afroyeti · #5 (**permalink**) 08-01-2011, 05:45 PM

WOW! those shots are amazing! Atleast all the kids do were scare them away, children have devilish minds (Used to be one)

thebeard · #6 (**permalink**) 09-01-2011, 03:55 PM

stoke bardolph and the surrounding area is a lovely part of the trent, excellent birding oppurtunities! There's some interesting looking greylags in that flock, well captured.

By the way, a great white egret is just down the river at Hoveringham if you didnt know already!

glsammy · #7 (**permalink**) 09-01-2011, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebeard

stoke bardolph and the surrounding area is a lovely part of the trent, excellent birding oppurtunities! There's some interesting looking greylags in that flock, well captured.

By the way, a great white egret is just down the river at Hoveringham if you didnt know already!

Thanks for that.

My problem with Hoveringham is that it's just to darn big for me!