I love it when an image you thought nothing of when making it in the field becomes a favorite. Some images just come alive on the screen and this is one of those images. I almost didn’t take the picture because the barn would “ruin” the image…But it does exactly the opposite…It tells a story. Snow Geese migrate by the millions through the heartland of North America. Flooded prairie and farmland fields can be major stopovers for weary birds.

This image was taken in Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge in northcentral South Dakota. It was late March but snow and ice and  cold still dominated the landscape. The Snow Geese sleep on the backwaters of the James River at night and then feed on corn in neighboring farm fields during the day. This group was spooked by some unseen threat. The sound is as impressive as the sight!

Canon 40D, 400mm f5.6 on tripod, f8 at 1/640 second at ISO 400