April 15

I'm pretty happy with this shot because it tells a nice story. I've known of a Canada Goose nest at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge for a few weeks now, but it's too far away to photograph with my lens (55-200mm). Today I found two new nests that were much closer but more hidden. This one was only about 20 feet from me.

That's the female on the nest. And the male is standing nearby. She hardly ever leaves the nest. I wonder how she even gets enough to eat. The male is usually just swimming around close and eating all the time. Sometimes he'll scare off other geese, which causes quite a stir. These geese are at least three years old because they're nesting. Also they mate for life. And often they will nest in the very same spot each year. As long as the nest doesn't get raided, the eggs should hatch by the beginning of May!

I was glad to get a little catch light in the female goose's eye. They were both checking me out, but she was just at a better angle. And I love how well you can see the nest. I don't like that branch in the way, but this was the best angle I could find because they were in the trees. I wish I had a lens with a 2.8 f-shot then I could have blurred that branch right out of the shot!

By the way, you can click on the photo to see an enlarged version. Also if you click on it again it will zoom in closer. Just click "back" to return to the blog page.