Squaw Creek NWR

This weekend, EAGLE DAYS was celebrated at Squaw Creek NWR. A small handful of Master Naturalists volunteered today, Sunday. I left the house at about 5:30am and took the drive up. Just before I reached St. Jo, I encountered a short bout of sleet and ice- the rest of the drive, I only had the wind to fight.

Upon arriving at the refuge- just before sunrise- I was able to watch hundreds of thousands of waterfowl make their daily migration for the crop fields surrounding the area. It is quit impressive to see a mass of birds that large! I was assigned to the nature centre for the early morn- then I was moved into the field. Three of us were to man the spotting scopes in the harsh cold. It was the kind of chill that tore the skin from your body and exposes your bare bones. The temperature itself was not that bad- it was warm when I arrived- in the 40's?- but in the upper 20's when I was outside. It was the strong, northerly wind that slaughtered us.

We saw many eagles- dozens- and many waterfowl and other birds of prey. However, there were only three different things that seemed real special to me.

A couple of eagles spared in the air- neither had food, but they were arguing over something. It looked like two juveniles to me, but they were only silhouettes against the lightly blanketed sky.

Left: Silhouette of eagle taken today in B&W

After we'd spent a few minutes at our first location, several rooster pheasants and a hen began to emerge from the thick dead grasses. Two bulleted from in front of us, traveling in opposite directions at first but landing in the same destination- a small, smooth pond- behind us. Then another bird popped out of the mess- flew slowly around us and remaining low to the ground. He and the last rooster also landed near the pond. I hadn't seen the birds since this time last month, when I visited Quivira NWR in south central KS.

At our second post, after I had lost feeling in my toes and fingers, we observed a group of about 13 trumpeter swans. This was very special for me-. Several had orange neck bands, and the entire group seemed very active they flew across the road in several smaller groups- the last of which passed directly over us. I had enough time to snap six shots- nothing too nice, but they are still cool to look at.

When I take a photo of a creature like the swans, my goal is to capture not only the image, but everything that composes the moment. In order to do this, I need to include every factor of the moment in that little square viewing screen- obvious characteristics of the animal, the lighting and colour, the weather, and other components that could help portray what I am experiencing.- the most important of which being lighting. It can set a mood, and if the mood that you provoke matches the creature well I have created a beautiful scene that gives the creature a personality. Okay, so maybe I thought about that too much; I am only able to think about a photograph when that subject and setting is still enough for my slow head. In the case of the swan, I didn't have the time. I did in a photo like the one below, which is not a very exciting subject, but I feel like I was able to capture the moment.