All is quiet, the geese intently feeding in a field of cut grain. Something, perhaps a coyote on the prowl, suddenly spooks the flock. Thousands instantly arise in an explosion of beating wings and deafening frantic honking. A few seconds of molten movement, then they fade into the distance. Experiencing this event is an awesome sensory delight - one that I have enjoyed numerous times while observing Canada and Snow Geese.

Just prior to taking this photograph at Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, I prepared to do a long exposure, hoping to capture the blur of wings when the flock inevitably arose. What I didn't expect was that the flock would arise so instantaneously that I would only have time to click one exposure. And instead of flying down the valley as I expected, the geese flew rapidly toward me - so that when I tripped the shutter only one goose was sharply focused ... and that's what makes the picture!

Lee Rentz