Sunday, November 16, 2008

Geese Migration

Last week I mentioned to Loren that I really miss seeing and hearing the geese migrating.
In Appleton, our apartment was on some sort of flight path, because you'd hear the geese honking, run to the window and see formations of geese heading South.

Maybe I don't see them fly over Madison because we live in the middle of the city. In Appleton, we were on the edge of civilization. Whatever the reason, I miss seeing the geese flying.

Saturday, on a spur of the moment decision, we went up to Appleton to see friends. It was dark when we left, so we didn't see much of anything on the drive up. However, on Sunday, driving home, it was a fine day and I finally spotted a flock (gaggle?!) of geese on the wing.

Suddenly I began to see the dark ribbons of geese in the sky. There were 100's if not 1000's of geese on the wing. Only thing was, they were flying WEST! What's up with that? As I took my bearings, I realized we were approaching the boundaries of the Horicon Marsh Wildlife Area. They are all headed to the Marsh!
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/wildlife_areas/horicon/

After that, we could see countless gaggles making their way to the Safety of the Marsh for the evening. Watching the dark ribbons of geese undulating across the sky is one of my favorite sights. I never get weary of it, always want to applaud the grace and beauty of the spectacle, and without fail I send my love and appreciation to these graceful creatures as they follow their instincts and make a long, perilous journey season after season.

Realizing I needed pix to post to my blog, we began looking for a spot to pull over. As three different flocks made their way past me, Loren brought the car to a halt, I jumped out and snapped a few quick pictures.

We haven't actually been to Horicon Marsh Wildlife Area. Guess it's going on my list of things to see and do!

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