Roar~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES

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When thousands of snow geese,
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rise,

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they roar!

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Like massive waterfalls,

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they drown all sound,

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but for the beating thrum of thousands of wings.
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They blanket the sky,
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blocking the sun,
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with blinding white,

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generating their own radiant light!

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Cheers to you from the wintering snow geese at The Salton Sea~

269 thoughts on “Roar~”

  9. Beautiful series of snow geese and their progression in flight. Do they change locations from the Salton Sea near you to the Salton Sea in Vancouver, Washington?
    Thanks for allowing us to see what you see.
    Wally

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  10. Wow, they are so many of them. It must be great to live for that many many of the same kind of birds together. The sky is so lovey blue and these white birds are just a great contrast for the scene. Beautiful.

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    1. This is where they hang out in the winter, in huge numbers, because I think they disperse more as they head north! Thank goodness for me or I would only get to see bits of them when I travel north~ 🕊️🕊️🕊️

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  16. Wonderful photos. That’s awesome. How in the world do they not run into each other? Is there one main leader? Nature is so amazing. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. You asked the best question! Scientists don’t know how they do this, but different factors are being studied, including some form of non-verbal, even psychic communication, between the birds. I kid you not. I read several scientific papers on this. They are looking at the same phenomena in schooling fish. What I noticed observing them is that they take of in groups of a couple of a thousand at a time , almost like a progressive wave phenomena. Amazing isn’t it! They have skills we cannot even begin to understand~

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  19. Absolutely astounding, Cindy! Last time I visited the snow geese was near GreyLodge sanctuary north of Sacramento! With my new camera, I hope to head up there when all this wild wind and rain stops and the rivers and waters recede a little!

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    1. We are supposed to be heading to Big Sur but the incoming storms keep delaying us. Still, we just have to be so grateful that the horrendous drought that killed 300,000 trees state wide may be over. I very much look forward to your photos~

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    1. I wondered if they would rain on me but they didn’t even drop one birdie doo on me and many thousands flew right over my head. They were most considerate! 🕊️🕊️

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    1. It’s a big thrill. Usually it happens in the distance, you hear the roar, you look and you see the flocks rising in waves. This time I got very close and massive flocks took off directly over my head. It happened twice. It was absolutely thrilling. I was covered in birds but never even touched! 🕊️

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  29. Wow! Snow geese are beautiful. I have never seen a sight like that. Hundreds of birds flying above. Can you really hear the wings fluttering? That’s amazing. The photos are just wonderful. Thank you!

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    1. And they don’t just talk, they roar, and when they roar no other sounds can possibly be heard. I was happy for them, plus thrilled to my toes to be in the middle of this! 🕊️🕊️

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  32. Amazing, breathtaking, awesome, and utterly exquisite. It boggles the mind to wonder how such a mammoth mass of birds can synchronize their flying and not crash into one another! You’ve captured them beautifully, Cindy 💖

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    1. Ah, thank you Tina! Science is studying this, both in fish schooling and bird flocking behavior. They are looking into non-verbal communication and some sort of psychic relay. What a wondrous world we live in!

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      1. Indeed it is! For me, psychic communication is a given. And although I adore science (vivisection excluded),researchers often fail to recognize the unseen and acknowledge its presence. If they can’t measure it, then it isn’t valid. Intuitive forms of measuring need to be validated if the human species is to continue . . .

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  38. Wow, what an amazing sight! So many birds, they blot out the sky. I’ve always wanted to see a sight like that in person and have heard about these snow geese. Another is the starling murmuration, often called the “black sun” phenomenon (of which I’ve seen YouTube videos of in the Sacramento area). That must be incredible to witness their fluid motion.

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    1. Someone just sent me a video of the murmuration in Berlin. Where ever it occurs, when someone witnesses it, they are left gob-smacked and thrilled, especially if you are lucky enough to be inside the densest part. It is just how I felt inside a large swarm of honeybees. Thrilled to the core! All of sudden you are not observing nature, you are part of the incredible power and beauty of it~

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  41. You’re lucky to have witnessed this in real life Cindy. It’s amazing to see in your photos or on one of David Attenborough’s TV programmes but they cannot provide the real experience as it must be. Brilliant!

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    1. Having them take off right in front of me and fly so close all around and above me was absolutely thrilling. Often, I am an usually an observer. When this happened I was in the midst of the flock, I was part of it. Not one feather touched me, yet the wind from the wings, and the sound was overwhelming.
      Something similar happened a few years ago. I heard this intense powerful rumble and I thought, “Oh, a plane is in trouble and I looked around for it,” when I saw this dark cloud coming straight towards me. It was a bee swarm. I was scared but there was no time, nothing to do but stand rooted to the spot. The swarm enveloped me, but the feeling was one of perfect safety and bliss. The swarm parted like the red sea. It never touched me, even though it completely surrounded me. For a few seconds, I was part of the swarm. And then it was gone.
      When stuff like this happens it creates a sense of wonder that remains. 🕊️

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      1. Well, on second thoughts, this is definitely more for your ears than the colony of Pinkfoot geese in the marshes in Norfolk … And what a sight for the eyes, Cindy. Incredible images, I have never seen anything like it. Bravo!

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        1. YES! Being in the center of the flock is a feeling of utter peace and safety, combined with a sense of wonder that can only come from being in the heart of mother nature and her creation. <3 It wasn’t at all unpleasant. It was very similar to the thunder of a very large waterfall, all enveloping but completely tranquil~ 🕊️

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    1. Trying to figure this out is like trying to count penguins in Antarctica which scientists did while we were there. They took an area and shot panoramic photos. Blew up one area and counted the penguins, then multiplied the area by the remaining amount of space and came up with something like 400,000 in that area. I wouldn’t be able to guess the numbers, but it is much larger than you see in the photos since I couldn’t begin to get the entire flock into one shot. I shot them in segments.

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  57. Amazing. I have been fortunate to feel the thrumming of their wings in my heart. I look forward to this time of year when the arctic birds sometimes winter here but alas not one so far.

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  59. Wow! So many of them. That’s a truly awesome sight. And there was me thinking that the flocks of geese were large that arrived on the SE coast of the UK from Scandinavia this winter. I loved their honking noises from dawn to dusk for several weeks on end. Every time they flew over the garden, I could hear their wings beating the air. My dog was entranced. She sat int he middle of the lawn, staring up at the sky, watching them. I taught her from a young age that birds are not to be treated as marauders on, or over her territory, so she loves them and treats them with great respect … the respect they deserve.

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    1. And they probably respond to her in kind. My husband witnessed me in the flock. He asked, “Weren’t you concerned you would get dropped on?”
      I said, “Not even for a nano-second. ” My face was turned directly up, shooting the birds with my mouth open in wonder as they flew in mass over my head. I thought they wouldn’t drop on me and they didn’t.
      Maybe they can sense when they are revered, like your doggie watching them fly by.
      What a wonderful world~

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  61. Such majestic creatures, Cindy — thanks for sharing their winter habitat with us. I get to see geese all summer (not sure if they’re the snow variety, though).

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  63. These are some wonderful photos! We live right by a playa lake, and the Canada geese winter over here. There are thousands of them. When they take off it is so loud it drowns out the TV. We always run to look and take photos, too. I don’t think I hear their wings, but their honking is making so much noise! 🙂

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    1. Laughing, no let’s not go there. I can’t eat ducks or geese because I used to raise them. I remember you were very tolerant of the grizzlies even though they were eating your salmon! 🙂 😉 🕊️

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  74. Fabulous shots. Wow. The photos are spectacular and the captures amazing. I can’t imagine how they don’t trample each other landing when there’s so many in one spot. Thank you for sharing, Cindy. Love the pictures. <3 <3

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    1. If you start to think about how they fly like this, take off and land with precision, envelope me in the take off, (an oddity to day the least) without touching me, and travel thousands of miles with no wrong turns, if think about this, you realize we have no idea how they do any of these things. And that awareness leaves you open to the wonder which is a beautiful thing~ <3 🕊️

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  79. Looooove these photos! 💗They remind me of when we used to go to Bombay Hook NWR in DE and would see giant masses of them. Once, we were out at another wildlife viewing area and a flock flew directly overhead. We ran to the car but poor hubby got a runny present right on his shoulder anyway. 😆

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      1. Hey Cindy–never seen them here– we have 2 parks nearby that have big flocks of Canadian geese than come down. You’re photos were amazing! Hope you’re in the middle of a lovely weekend. It’s dry here today!

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          1. Hi Cindy– we did take advantage of our dry day– drove up to the Pasadena Civic to see a broadcast of “Prairie Home Companion.” Lots of fun music– now we’re back to slogging through the rain (but I’m NOT complaining!) How was your weekend??

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            1. How fun and I love Garrison. It just hailed like nobody’s business! It was like snow in the semi-desert! The birds were shocked. All is good here. Enjoying the rain. We are heading up to Piedras Blancas on Thursday to see the baby elephant seals.

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  100. Whoa! Those are a lot of birds. When we were still children, we used to witness “clouds” of birds like this in our hometown. They usually fly around late in the afternoon. Unfortunately, with all the cut trees, pollution, artificial developments, etc., we haven’t seen massive groups of birds like this any more. 🙁

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  101. Magical captures of the snow geese flights. Was just reading a little piece on the Salton Sea, its incredibly salinity, and the ability of halibut to adapt to this environment. Apparently the snow geese love the area too.

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  112. It is like a parable with its golden message, how people can work together, rise up and fly, becoming a fellowship and releasing a common sound, let freedom sing out a “roar!” 😀

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